Thanks to the global recession that has hit us all every industry has experienced some sort of reaction to one degree or another and the skiing industry is no different. However the decline in ski numbers is not as great as one might first have expected. In the US over the past winter there were 57.1 million visits to ski slopes, a 5.5 per cent decline from the record 60.5 million visits the year before.

This decline was possibly not as large as it could have been because the conditions have been very favorable in most parts of the country. Although the numbers were lower, the overall average was still higher than the 10-year average of visitors.

As for the coming ski season the expectations are mixed and industry officials are waiting on the sales of season passes to get a gauge on what the numbers may look like. It’s possible that there are going to be far fewer skiers and snowboarders in the next 12 months than there have in recent times.