The Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, set a record in 2007 with 21 million skier visits. Breckenridge resort moved into a top ranking because of a surge in the number of out-of-state skiers who traveled to the area. As these visitors fall in love with the majestic Rocky Mountains, they tend to keep an wide eye out for vacation homes midst Breckenridge real estate, building lots around Breckenridge real estate, investment properties in Breckenridge real estate, and even permanent dream homes in Breckenridge real estate.
When the snow blankets the peaks of Breckenridge real estate, people try hard to get to the top of those mountains. Colorado’s 26 resorts logged 12.6 million skier visits for the 2007, up 0.22 percent from the 12.5 million the previous year, according to a report by a trade group called Colorado Ski Country USA. This boosts Colorado’s market share to nearly 23 percent of the nationwide ski business.
Warm weather limited the traffic in other resorts across America. But snowy weather can also create problems. The Front Range resorts are sometimes affected by severe storms. When the I-70 corridor, the primary route between Denver and the slopes, becomes difficult to navigate, skiers cannot even access the slopes.
The scientific measure used by the industry defines a “skier visit” as “one person buying and using a lift ticket for all or part of a day.” With the increase in numbers of snowshoers and cross-country skiers that are not measured in the stats, this area held its own. Moreover, the stats mask the fact that the actual number of skiers has been somewhat flat for several years, not reflecting the fact that the same skiers are simply skiing more often.
The ski industry knows it needs to appeal to a broader population to continue growing. One obvious move is seeing ski resorts beginning to reach out to the booming minority population to recruit more new entrants to snow sports. Though the industry hasn't done itself any favors by creating an image of wealthy skiers wearing pricey outfits and using state-of-the-art equipment, there are plenty of minority skiers flocking to the slopes—some on a tight budget but others who can easily fit the image.
In order to keep those numbers up, the industry is changing its appeal from the original experts in the sport, the Norwegians and other Europeans, to include people from other nations and climes and cultures.
© Copyright 2005-2008 by IMC & RealEstateColorado.com
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