Broomfield-based Vail Resorts reported Thursday a 3.5 percent decline in Colorado skier visits for the 2008-09 season, an indication that resorts statewide likely saw a drop for the second straight year amid the recession.
Vail’s four Colorado resorts attracted roughly 5.1 million skier visits for the season, down from nearly 5.3 million a year ago. Slight increases at Vail and Beaver Creek weren’t enough to overcome larger drops at Breckenridge and Keystone.
“The decrease in overall visitation was partially mitigated by growth in visits from season-pass holders,” Vail chief executive Rob Katz said in a prepared statement about companywide results, which included its Heavenly resort along the California-Nevada border.
Katz said sales of season passes were up 12 percent for the season.
After three straight years of gains, the Colorado ski industry posted a drop in skier visits of less than 1 percent, to 12.5 million, during the 2007-08 season.
Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade group that tracks the data, plans to announce 2008-09 figures for member resorts next week at its annual meeting, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
Vail Resorts withdrew its membership last year. The company’s resorts were responsible for about 40 percent of visits reported by Colorado Ski Country USA for the 2007-08 season.
For the quarter that ended April 30, Vail posted net income of $61.6 million, a 29 percent drop. Total revenue dropped 21 percent to $333.5 million.
Katz said the results “were impacted by the continued severe downturn in the economy.”
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
