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Research
FINAL NUMBERS FROM KOTTKE 2017–18

END OF SEASON SURVEY

Data Shows Minimal Change in Overall Visits in Past Four Seasons

BY DAVE BELIN

THE FINAL NUMBERS for the 2017–18 season are in, as 2016–17, or -1.5 million visits (figures 1 and 2). Visits
documented in the Kottke End of Season Study. Now in its were variable by region, with a strong rebound in visits in
39th year, the Kottke is a robust document with a wealth the Midwest (up 15.4 percent) and a slight increase in the
of information about ski area operations, including visits, Northeast (up 0.4 percent), while visits decreased in the
snowfall, season passes, days of operation, lessons, non- Southeast (-0.6 percent), Rocky Mountains (-4.3 percent),
snowsports amenities, capital investment, and other statistics. Pacific Northwest (-6.1 percent), and Pacific Southwest
The longevity of this study is a testament to NSAA’s commit- (-15.7 percent).
ment to providing valuable information to its members. Visits have fluctuated within a relatively tight band of
The Kottke report would not be possible without the 52.8 million to 54.8 million visits the past four seasons.
participation of the 230 ski areas represented in the report. Visits nationally in 2017–18 were up 0.9 percent from the
Individual ski areas, including those owned by larger corpo- 2015–16 season (52.8 million visits), and down 0.6 percent
rations, completed a detailed survey form at the end of the from the 2014–15 season (53.6 million visits).
2017–18 season; the report analyzes and summarizes these
survey responses, presenting the information by region of Snowfall & Days Open
the country and by size of the ski area. This article presents Snowfall was generally down, both compared to a year ago
some of the most critical information from the Kottke report, and to long-term averages, albeit variable in specific regions
which is available from NSAA. and at specific times of the season. On an overall national
basis, snowfall averaged 181 inches per reporting ski area in
Downhill Snowsports Visits 2017–18, down from 253 inches last season, a decrease of
The top line number from the Kottke report that garners the 29 percent (figure 3). Snowfall was down nationally in every
most attention is downhill snowsports visits. Many people month of the season until March.
involved with the industry cite this figure, commonly called Average snowfall per resort increased in two regions:
“skier visits,” as a basic barometer for how the season went Southeast (62 inches from 48 inches, up 29 percent)
overall (and often as a shorthand for the size of a ski area). and Midwest (85 inches from 70 inches, up 21 percent).
During the 2017–18 season, US ski areas hosted an esti- However, declines were noted in the other four regions. The
mated 53.3 million visits, a decrease of 2.7 percent from Rocky Mountains received 237 inches compared to 307 last

Figure 1: Projected Snowsports Visits by Region 2014–15 to 2017–18

% Change % Change % Change
2017–18 2016–17 2015–16 2014–15
2017–18 vs 16–17 2017–18 vs 15–16 2017–18 vs 14–15
Northeast 11,986,511 11,936,451 0.4% 9,346,316 28.2% 13,332,252 -10.1%

Southeast 4,160,754 4,184,432 -0.6% 3,956,577 5.2% 5,673,328 -26.7%
Midwest 6,256,626 5,421,272 15.4% 5,515,741 13.4% 6,981,766 -10.4%

Rocky Mountain 20,791,910 21,736,268 -4.3% 22,287,491 -6.7% 20,767,721 0.1%

Pacific Southwest 6,227,276 7,384,618 -15.7% 7,480,210 -16.7% 4,822,329 29.1%
Pacific Northwest 3,849,995 4,098,216 -6.1% 4,205,611 -8.5% 2,000,229 92.5%

Total 53,273,072 54,761,258 -2.7% 52,791,946 0.9% 53,577,625 -0.6%

6 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2018