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NSAA
ECONOMIC

ANALYSIS 7.6

AVERAGE ANNUAL
RESULTS 6.5 % REVENUE PER VISIT

A Quick Overview % AVERAGE WINTER
REVENUE PER VISIT
2017–18 Season

4.3
TICKET YIELD percent
RATIO AVERAGE ANNUAL TICKET
1.3% GROSS REVENUE REVENUE

PER VISIT

OPERATING PROFIT 0.3%

BY DAVE BELIN, DIRECTOR OF CONSULTING SERVICES, RRC ASSOCIATES

he 2018–19 season is well underway—which several Some overall summary information from the 2017–18
regions in the country were able to kick off with early fiscal year includes the following:
Topenings. At the same time, the last of three major • Average annual gross revenue increased by 5 percent to
reports documenting the 2017–18 season is now available. $37.1 million per resort, up from $35.3 million.
This report, the NSAA Economic Analysis of US Ski Areas, • Operating profit rose by 0.3 percent to an average of
presents important financial and operating metrics such as $11 million per resort.
gross annual revenues, operating expenses, profits, depart- • Average annual revenue per visit was $118.82, an
mental margins, number of employees, balance sheets, and a increase of 7.6 percent.
variety of other measures. The document provides informa- • Average winter revenue per visit, a new metric calculated
tion such as the margin in the snowsports school department, this year, was $106.40, up 6.5 percent.
the percent of expenses that are dedicated to labor/payroll, • Ticket revenue per visit averaged $54.76, up 4.3 percent.
the share of annual revenue that occurs in the summer, and • Ticket yield ratio declined to 58.1 percent from 59.4
other important topics. Some key highlights from the study percent. This figure is different from the ticket yield ratio
are presented in this article. reported in the Kottke End of Season Study due to a differ-
The US ski resort industry had a solid year financially, ent set of responding ski areas that are represented in the
according to the results of the 2017–18 Economic Analysis two studies.
study. Annual gross revenue was up, operating profit was
stable, and pre-tax profit was down slightly among the 114 A total of 114 ski areas across the country submitted
ski areas submitting information for both seasons. However, Economic Analysis surveys for both the 2016–17 and
the results varied by region, with the Southeast and Midwest 2017–18 seasons, up from 112 ski areas in the report last
posting impressive results, while the Pacific South suffered year. The study would not be possible without the contribu-
from a challenging weather season (though the region as a tion from those 114 ski resorts; RRC Associates and NSAA
whole remained profitable). would like to thank the ski areas that participated.

38 | NSAA JOURNAL | WINTER 2019