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Figure 2. Percent of Snowsports Visits by Generation: 2007/08 – 2016/17
40% %36.2
%33.9 %34.4 %33.4 %33.4 %33.6 %34.0 %33.1
35% %32.7 %31.7 %30.6 %30.1 %30.7 %32.8 %31.7 %31.4 %32.5 %32.8 %30.5 %29.5

30% %29.2 %27.2 %27.7 %25.4 %25.2 %25.2 %22.8
Percent Responding 20% %15.0 %16.9 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 %21.4 %20.8 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
25%
%18.8

15%

10%
%4.7 %6.9 %6.5 %8.4 %9.2 %4.7 %4.0 %3.9 %3.7
5% %1.7 %2.5 %3.3 %3.4 %3.4 %2.7 %2.5 %1.9 %1.7

0% Generation Z Millennial Generation X Baby Boomers Pre-boom
(19 and under) (20-36) (37-52) (53-71) (72 or older)
Generation (Cohort Age Definitions for 2016)
Snowsports participants continue to skew significantly with how resorts located in those respective regions fared.
more affluent than the general US population (with 60.7 per- More specifically, residents of the Northeast census
cent of skiers/riders making $100,000 or more, compared to region increased their visitation at both northeastern and
24.9 percent of all US households in 2015). While positive western resorts (although their skiing at southeastern resorts
from a pricing standpoint, the trend toward increasing afflu- held roughly flat). Residents of the South increased their vis-
ence should be viewed cautiously, as income diversity in the itation of southeastern resorts, but decreased their visitation
customer base is important to the overall health of the industry. to the West. Residents of the Midwest decreased their visi-
tation slightly to both midwestern and western resorts. And,
SHIFTS IN GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN MIRROR residents of the West decreased their visits to both Rocky
SHIFTS IN REGIONAL VISITATION PATTERNS Mountain and Pacific West resorts. International visitation
Skier visits increased this season among residents of the held virtually flat year over year, with slight gains in visits to
Northeast and Southeast, while dropping among residents of the eastern US offset by slight declines to the West.
the Midwest, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific states, consistent Specifically, by Census Division, visits are estimated to have
increased among residents of the New England (22.7 percent),
Figure 3
Annual Pre-Tax Household Income: 2007/08 – 2016/17 Middle Atlantic (19.7 percent), East South Central (13.1 per-
40% %35.5 cent), and South Atlantic (3.2 percent) divisions. By contrast, vis-
itation is estimated to have dropped among residents of the West

35% %32.3 %32.7 %33.0 %33.9 %34.7 South Central (-5.9 percent), West North Central (-4.6 percent),
Mountain (-4.2 percent), and Pacific (-1.1 percent) divisions.
%29.2 %29.9 %30.5 %30.4 Visitation is estimated to have held essentially flat from the East
30% %27.3 %27.1 %24.9 %25.9 %24.6 %25.0 %25.4 %24.3 %24.2 %25.4 %24.5 %24.0 %23.5 %23.1 %23.9 %23.1 %25.2 North Central division and international (figure 4).
Percent of Respondents 20% %21.2 %20.7 %19.3 %18.2 %18.7 %16.8 %22.5 %18.9 %18.1 %19.1 %19.9 %22.3 %21.1 concentration of skier visits by state of residence, indexed
The National Demographic Study documents the relative
25%

against population (figure 5). The index is calculated as
the share of US resort visits generated by a given state (with
international visitors excluded from the base), divided by the
15%
state’s share of the US population, times 100. The US overall

10% index is 100. The highest-indexing states this season were
primarily in the West and New England, led by Colorado
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 (index 619, meaning than Coloradans skied 6.19 times more
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
5% days per capita than the national average), Vermont (610),
Utah (399), New Hampshire (395), Idaho (387), Alaska
0% (307), Massachusetts (273), Wyoming (263), Montana (258),
<$50,000 $50 - $99,999 $100 - $199,999 $200,000+ and Maine (253). The lowest-indexing states were primarily in

24 | NSAA JOURNAL | EARLY WINTER 2017