New England Ski Journal

  • Login
  • Logout
  • Subscribe
  • Dashboard
Slopeside

Vail reports skier visits up 12.5 percent for the 2021-22 season

By NESJ StaffApril 28, 2022

Vail reported solid increases in many revenue areas for the 2021-22 season. (Mount Snow/Vail Resorts)

Considering that Vail Resorts claimed it sold 2.1 million Epic Passes prior to this season, it probably should be of little surprise that the resort conglomerate has reported skier visits were up during 2021-22. 

Vail said that total skier visits at its collection of North American ski resorts were up 12.5 percent over last year. However, in its press release, Vail makes no mention though about how that increase led to even more overcrowding and complaining at many of its resorts, including its holdings in New England. 

“We are pleased with our overall results as the 2021-2022 North American ski season concludes which, as expected, are significantly outperforming results from the 2020-2021 season,” Vail CEO Kirsten Lynch said in a statement. “The prior year was significantly impacted by COVID-19 and related limitations and restrictions, which eased for most resorts in March and April of last year resulting in stronger visitation and revenue relative to the earlier parts of last season.” 

Vail Resorts reported it saw increases in other revenue avenues as well. Lift ticket revenue was reported to be up 19.4 percent, ski school revenue up 53 percent, dining revenue up 73.2 percent, and retail revenue up 39 percent.

“This year, challenging early-season conditions persisted through the holiday period, but our results were strong from January through the remainder of the season,” Lynch said. “Our strong season pass sales heading into the season, which are the foundation of our advance commitment strategy, resulted in particularly strong destination visitation and were further supported by lift ticket sales at our Colorado and Utah resorts that exceeded our expectations.  

“Recent performance at our eastern U.S. ski areas was in line with our expectations while our Tahoe resorts were impacted by challenging spring conditions, resulting in performance below our expectations.” 

Epic Pass users who do decide to return for the 2022-23 season will have unlimited access to 40 resorts including Vail, Beaver Creek, Wildcat, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb, Attitash, Heavenly, Northstar, Okemo, Kirkwood, Stowe, Stevens Pass, and more. With additional partner resorts like Telluride, the Epic Pass unlocks access to more than 80 resorts. The Northeast Value Pass includes Vail’s new properties in Pennsylvania, adding to a list of available resorts that already included Okemo, Mount Snow, Mount Sunapee, Attitash, Wildcat, and Crotched. Northeast Value Pass holders also get 10 days at Stowe. There are holiday restrictions at Okemo, Mount Snow, Stowe, and Hunter Mountain in New York. 

Tags: Epic Pass, Vail Resorts

Related Articles

Maybe Vail should take some crowd control tips from — of all places — Disney World

Last year around this time, my family spent a few days of its April school vacation taking advantage of the final patches of snow that…
Read More

Attitash won’t be offering summer attractions for a second-straight year

It’s going to be another quiet summer at Attitash Mountain Resort.  General manager Brandon Swartz announced this week that the Vail-owned property in Bartlett, N.H.…
Read More

Loon to require reservations for Ikon Pass holders next season

Loon Mountain Resort will be one of a handful of Ikon Pass partners that will be requiring a reservation prior to visiting next season.  The…
Read More

Our Free Weekly Newsletter

  • Subscribe
  • Seamans Media, Inc.
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2022 Seamans Media, Inc. • All Rights Reserved

Contact Us!

Please write a brief description and someone will get back to you shortly!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.