Vail Resorts credited its geographic diversity and its popular Epic Pass with overcoming a slow start to the 2016-17 season and a dip in skier visits to finish the season with increased revenues.
The world’s largest ski resort operator on Wednesday reported compared to the previous season. Lift ticket revenue was up 7.4 percent, ski school revenue climbed 4.5 percent, dining revenue was up 3.3 percent and retail/rental revenue increased 3.4 percent. Visits to the company’s resorts in Colorado, Utah, California and British Columbia fell 2.8 percent.
In a statement, company chief Rob Katz told investors the company would finish in the “top half” of the , which forecast resort earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization falling between $577 million and $597 million.
“While overall visitation was impacted by the slower start to the season, our results highlight the strong performance throughout the year and the stability provided by our season pass, the benefit of our increasing geographic diversification and the success of our sophisticated marketing efforts that continue to support robust destination visitation and guest spending,” Katz said in the statement.
