News of Interest

STICKY: Smith Travel Research acquires RRC Associates
Press Release,
February 28, 2008
Smith Travel Research and RRC Associates have announced that they are joining forces, effective immediately.

Oregon Tourism Commission Unveils New Online Customer Service Training Program
Staff Report, Market Watch
August 26, 2008
The Oregon Tourism Commission launched its new free online Quality Care Customer Service Training Program (Q Care) this week on http://www.OregonQCare.com. Oregon Q Care is a training program created to support the tourism and hospitality industry through enhanced employee education. By emphasizing the importance of quality customer service, the training will equip employees with tools and resources to better serve Oregon's visitors.

Ski towns get attention at DNC
Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News
August 27, 2008
If you’re looking to get some exposure, the Democratic National Convention is a prime place to be, what with 15,000 media representatives humming around town and all. If you have something to promote or protest against, this is a good spot to get noticed.

Fresh Powder for Ski Towns
Kris Hudson, The Wall Street Journal
August 27, 2008
Related Cos. has built signature buildings that helped to transform neighborhoods in Manhattan, Phoenix and South Florida. Now, the big-market developer is attempting a $3 billion redevelopment to transform this prosperous Colorado ski town. Related's efforts to revamp the core of Snowmass Village, seven miles west of Aspen, is among the latest and most ambitious of many projects designed to overhaul Western America's aging ski towns -- many of which were built in the 1960s and 1970s.

Winter travel: fewer flights, elusive bargains
Michelle Higgins, New York Times news service
August 27, 2008
Last year, Nikki Frahm, operations manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Forest Lake, Minn., arranged a February vacation for a family of four to Ixtapa, Mexico. They enjoyed the trip so much that last month, they called Frahm and asked her to sign them up for the same vacation this year. There's just one catch: The vacation may be the same, but the price will not.

Economy a factor in ’09 ski season outlook
Bob Berwyn, SUMMIT DAILY NEWS
August 18, 2008
Matching or breaking last season’s record number of skier visits may be as much a function of the economy as of good snow conditions, according to some industry experts. The quality of the snow overcame deteriorating economic conditions ... including declining consumer confidence, said Nolan Rosall, of RRC Associates. We also saw some patterns that reflected peoples’ desire to cut back on expenses, he added. People still wanted to ski. But with good conditions locally, there were fewer destination trips.

Key Cards For DNC Hotels Made From Wood
Staff Report, thedenverchannel.com
August 18, 2008
Wooden key cards will be given to guests at 35 Denver-area hotels during the DNC as part of the convention's green push. Boulder-based Sustainable Cards has spent years developing a way to create the cards and is donating them to the delegate hotels in hopes of getting bigger contracts with those chains later on.

Good snow, local visitors provide a lift to ski resorts
Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
August 13, 2008
Abundant snowfall can draw skiers to the mountains even during a tough economy, but a new survey also suggests Colorado resorts are more likely to draw local visitors in the face of rising travel costs. Favorable snow conditions in the latest season helped the industry show resilience, given soaring energy prices, a mortgage crisis and rising unemployment, according to the Kottke end-of-season report prepared for the National Ski Areas Association.

With help from the Web, travel agents regain relevance
Michelle Higgins, New York Times News Service
August 13, 2008
Not long ago, the advent of online travel - allowing travelers to research and book their trips with a few clicks of a mouse - was thought to be a death knell for traditional travel agents. But faced with the increasing cost and unpredictability of travel today, vacationers seem to be returning to the fold.

Terrible Timing for a Hotel Boom
ABHA BHATTARAI and FRED A. BERNSTEIN, The New York Times
July 31, 2008
A record number of hotels are opening this year, and the timing could not be worse. High gasoline prices and a slumping economy have put a damper on leisure and business travel. Airlines have been cutting service and raising fares. While new hotels open, occupancy rates are falling across much of the United States. We're really on the verge, said Charles Snyder of Smith Travel Research, a firm based in Hendersonville, Tenn. It hasn't turned into a hotel recession just yet, but we're certainly keeping an eye on the economy.

Where Research and Tourism Collide
MICHELLE NIJHUIS, The New York Times
July 22, 2008
When Michael Soulé researched butterflies in this mountain valley in the early 1960s, the nearby town of Crested Butte was little more than a busted coal-mining settlement. You couldn't even buy a mug or a T-shirt, said Dr. Soulé, now a conservation biologist.

As Travel Costs Rise, More Meetings Go Virtual
STEVE LOHR, The New York Times
July 22, 2008
Jill Smart, an Accenture executive, was skeptical the first time she stepped into her firm's new videoconferencing room in Chicago for a meeting with a group of colleagues in London. But the videoconferencing technology, known as telepresence, delivered an experience so lifelike, Ms. Smart recalled, that 10 minutes into it, you forget you are not in the room with them.

Falwell, Jr. Announces Snow-Free Ski Slope
PR Newswire, Market Watch
July 21, 2008
A portion of Liberty University's 5,000-acre mountain range will be receiving a makeover in the coming months with the construction of a year-round ski slope known as the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Center.

In Idaho, Ski Resort's Promise Fades
JUSTIN SCHECK, Wall Street Journal
July 7, 2008
The real-estate downturn is taking Western locales like this tiny mountain village down a familiar path: from boom to bust. A half-century ago, timber brought prosperity that ended abruptly in the 1990s. This time, a luxury ski development called Tamarack Resort has whipsawed the town's 158 residents.

Americans change travel habits, but for good?
TONY PUGH, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
July 6, 2008
Transportation experts say the current gasoline crisis, which is driven by price, is far different from those of the '70s, which were crises of availability. In fact, many think that today's soaring gas prices will have a more lasting impact on what we drive, how we drive and our collective attitude toward investment in mass transit.

Despite uncertainty, the more upscale still insist upon traveling
David Sharp, Associated Press
July 6, 2008
High gas prices may mean fewer families will be headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, but rising prices likely won't be keeping wealthy people from missing out on vacation. Although their stock portfolios may be in decline, wealthy Americans who are less likely to feel the impact of a slowing economy and rising energy and food prices are largely going ahead with their vacation plans even though consumer confidence is at a 16-year low.

Ski resorts offering higher subsidies to airlines
Staff Report, examiner.com
July 5, 2008
Higher airfares and trimmed flight schedules could end up raising the subsidies Colorado ski resorts pay airlines to bring out-of-state skiers to town this winter.

Gas prices at record high, holiday travel down
Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
July 5, 2008
As gas prices hit a new high Saturday, Americans were seen cutting back on travel over the holiday weekend.The national average for regular unleaded gas was $4.103 on Saturday, up almost 3% from a month ago and up 39% from last year, according to the American Automobile Association's Fuel Gauge Report. With such heady fuel costs, AAA estimates that the number of Americans traveling during the Fourth of July holiday travel period fell for the first time this decade.

Why hotels should shutter ad campaigns
Amy Bradley-Hole, msnbc.com
July 2, 2008
Hotels are feverishly upgrading these days, trying to offer faster Internet service, or better beds, or all non-smoking properties. But while they’re trying to make their properties more modern and appealing for today’s travelers, they seem to have forgotten to upgrade their ad campaigns.

What is eco-tourism?
Dean Irvine, cnn.com
July 1, 2008
From treks in the Arctic circle to luxury eco-lodges in Costa Rica, there are many types of vacations and holiday companies that like to highlight just how much they care about the environment. But with such a wide variety of activities and places that huddle under the banner eco-tourism, it seems almost impossible to tell just what the term really means.

'Lost' Ski Areas the Topic of New Exhibit
Staff Report, First Tracks!!
June 3, 2008
The story of the ‘lost’ ski areas of New England mirrors earlier boom-and-bust cycles of land use in the region, and has left physical traces on the face of the land, as well as nostalgic memories in the minds of many skiers who knew the lost resorts. A fascination with the derelict areas akin to interest in ghost towns of the West became evident with the popularity of a website, www.nelsap.org, that tracks the phenomenon, and now a new exhibit at the New England Ski Museum features the history of a selection of the hundreds of small areas that have closed.

US to require online travel registration
DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press
June 3, 2008
The United States said Tuesday that visitors from closely allied countries like Britain and Japan will soon have to register personal details online at least three days before arrival. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who announced the changes Tuesday, said they will help the United States boost security of its visa-free travel program by allowing the government to screen visitors before they travel.

Overseas travel visits to Seattle jump 25 percent in '07
Staff Report, Puget Sound Business Journal
June 3, 2008
The number of visitors to Seattle from overseas jumped from 325,000 in 2006 to 406,000 in 2007, according to recent federal statistics. The 25 percent jump in Seattle was the nation's second-biggest jump in overseas visits from 2006 to last year, second only to Anaheim, Calif.'s jump of 42 percent.

Tourism Industry Association says 'urgent action' needed to halt decline
Staff Report, The Canadian Press
June 2, 2008
The Canadian tourism industry is calling for urgent action from governments at all levels, saying it is on the precipice of an unprecedented decline that could have an impact on jobs in the industry.

Wine Takes Over a Town, and Prosperity Follows
KRISTINA SHEVORY, New York Times
May 30, 2008
Walla Walla has always been best known for its sweet onions, wheat fields and a penitentiary. It was a punch line of a town with the funny name that wasn’t on the road to anywhere. Outsiders hardly ever came unless they were attending a college graduation or visiting relatives.Not anymore. After its wines — cabernets, merlots and syrahs — started winning high scores from national critics, Walla Walla leapt onto the lips of wine drinkers, gourmets and second-home buyers.

In the white: Ski resorts chalk up record year
James Paton, Rocky Mountain News
May 29, 2008
Ski industry executives are giving thanks for a banner year as heavy snowfall and a surge in international tourists outweighed the impact of a sluggish economy. Ski resorts across the U.S. attracted more than 60 million visitors, a gain of 9 percent from the previous season, the industry's trade group said Thursday.

Vail pulls out of Colorado Ski Country USA
Staff Report, Denver Business Journal
May 29, 2008
Vail Resorts has canceled its membership with Colorado Ski Country USA, the not-for-profit organization that promotes and markets the state's ski areas. Apparently Vail no longer agreed with the direction of Colorado Ski Country USA.

Logan sees drop in US travel in '08
Nicole C. Wong, Boston Globe
May 16, 2008
The slight increase in international travelers flying into Boston this year won't be enough to offset a drop in domestic passengers as economic uncertainties worsen for US airlines and customers, predicted the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan Airport.

AAA predicts a drop in plane and car travel
Tara Dooley, Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2008
Prices at the pump — and perhaps everywhere else — will keep some Americans at home this Memorial Day weekend, according to estimates released Thursday from AAA.

CU explores building hotel and convention center
Brittany Anas, Boulder Daily Camera
April 1, 2008
The city of Boulder's plans for a hotel and conference center are on hold as the University of Colorado considers whether it should build its own on, or nearby, the campus. CU Chancellor Bud Peterson launched a survey Monday, asking campus and neighboring federal lab employees how often they would schedule meetings, conferences, lectures or other events if a campus conference center were to be built. CU's study is being led by Boulder-based consulting firm RRC Associates.

Six travel issues likely to be ignored
Christopher Elliott, cnn.com
April 1, 2008
No matter who wins, you lose. Whether you\'re a Democrat, Republican or pondering a protest vote for an independent presidential candidate in November, what you do at the ballot box is meaningless -- at least as far as your travel is concerned. Sure, travel is a $740 billion industry, but it's a business Washington tends to take for granted. And one election isn't likely to change a thing, right?

Realtors Group Says Vacation Home Sales Down 31 Percent
Amy Gunderson, Halogen Guides Real Estate
March 31, 2008
Second home sales have taken a direct hit in the current real estate market slowdown, according the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) annual survey of investment and vacation home buyers.

Ski Resorts Hope for a Record Year
Associated Press, cnn.com
March 31, 2008
Forget baseball and spring flowers. The nation's ski resorts are all about deep powder on the slopes - still. Snow fell Monday in parts of the country including Colorado and Vermont, capping a bountiful winter that could lead to a record-setting season for the $6 billion industry. A year ago, resorts posted a 7 percent drop in visitors nationwide because of a fickle winter.

Growth, Parking Top Issues According to Residents
Gus Jarvis, Telluride Watch
March 27, 2008
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE – Out of the 364 surveys returned by Mountain Village residents, controlled growth and parking were identified as the two most important issues facing the town. The town received high marks from residents on the quality of the fire department, safety and cleanliness, among others. Chris Cares of Boulder-based RRC Associates, the professional research firm hired by the town in January to conduct the survey, presented the findings to a special meeting on Tuesday evening.

U.S. airlines brace as companies reconsidering business travel
Mark McSherry, Reuters
March 27, 2008
Recent fare increases and the weakening U.S. economy could hit the bottom lines of airlines in the United States as more companies are requiring their executives to fly economy instead of business class.

New Castle may be fastest growing town in Colorado
Pete Fowler, Glenwood Springs Post-Independent
March 23, 2008
Dale Gray remembers when kids walking around downtown New Castle with guns was no big deal. We could take our guns, walk downtown and up to the cemetery and nobody would think anything of it, he said. A community survey by RRC Associates of Boulder estimated the town’s population at 3,443 in 2007 and New Castle maintained an average annual growth rate of 8.9 percent since 2000.

Survey: Spending up slightly
Richard Valenty, Colorado Daily
March 3, 2008
Despite new competition and less-than-stellar national economic news, respondents to a summer 2007 Downtown Boulder survey spent more per person per visit, on average, than 2006 respondents.

Americans Spending More on Yoga
PR Newswire, Yoga Journal
February 26, 2008
The latest Yoga in America study, just released by Yoga Journal (yogajournal.com) shows that Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, including equipment, clothing, vacations and media (DVDs, videos, books and magazines). This figure represents an increase of 87 percent compared to the previous study in 2004 -- almost double of what was previously spent.

Check out the latest trends in adventure travel
MEGAN K. SCOTT, Associated Press
February 14, 2007
Forget the tan, the Mickey Mouse photos and the cliche souvenirs. These days, travelers want to experience something more than the gated resort and the cruise ship buffet. They want to go on a walking tour, climb a mountain and kayak down a river — adventures that can make a vacation more meaningful.

US ski areas, other businesses cope with new limits on seasonal workers from abroad
Associated Press, International Herald Tribune
February 11, 2008
The bitter standoff in Congress over immigration reform is hitting home in ski country this winter. Vermont's Stowe Mountain Resort, for example, usually relies on about two dozen seasonal foreign workers as ski instructors. Not this year. Stowe had to do heavy duty recruiting for its ski school, including a first-ever hiring clinic in January, said human resources director Julie Frailey.

Experts: ‘Housing crisis’ has hit Eagle Co.
Melanie Wong, Vail Daily
February 7, 2008
It's official. Eagle County is in a housing crisis and can expect to feel the economic impacts in the next few years, experts say. The county needs 3,400 homes now, both affordable and market-priced, to address the current housing shortage, and more than 8,000 homes in the next decade to keep up with future growth, according to a recent study by RRC Associates and Rees Consulting, firms that specialize in housing analysis in resort communities.

Older skiers get fewer discounts
Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
January 26, 2008
Deep discounts on all sorts of goods and services have become a rite of passage for senior citizens living on fixed incomes and retirement savings. But as more and more folks attempt to stay active as they age, price breaks on the ski slopes have become smaller and smaller in recent years. A recent increase in the average age of skiers and a doubling in the proportion of those over 55 have resorts eyeing the segment as a major revenue source. For that reason, giveaways for the 70-plus crowd have almost disappeared.

Mountain Village to Citizens: ‘We’re Listening’
Gus Jarvis, Telluride Watch
January 18, 2008
Mountain Village Mayor Bob Delves has said that improving communication between the town and its citizens is a top priority. To help achieve that goal, on Jan. 8, the town mailed an eight-page survey to approximately 1,600 residents and property owners in Mountain Village.

When the Family Ski Trip Is What Brings You All Together
DAVID G. ALLAN, New York Times
January 11, 2008
“KATE can’t ski tomorrow.” That was how we told my family that my wife was pregnant last March as we all sat by the fireside the night before a day of skiing (for the rest of us) on Stratton Mountain in Vermont. That may be an odd way to share such news, but not if you come from a skiing family. It was our only chance to gather a quorum fit for such an announcement. As our lives have grown increasingly busy, and our homes farther apart, the family ski trip is what brings us all together.

The Maine Peak to Peak Challenge is on!
Carey Kish, mainetoday.com
January 10, 2008
The Maine Peak to Peak Challenge is on! This first-ever of its kind event in Maine is sponsored and organized by the Ski Maine Association. That's right, just a short week or so to go before a team of madcap skiers (yes, I'm in there) takes to the road to attempt to ski at least one run at every one of Maine's 17 downhill ski areas over the Martin Luther King Weekend, January 18-21.

Resorts Crack Down on Speeding Skiers
Good Morning America, ABC News
January 9, 2008
The country is in the midst of its prime skiing season and some resorts have taken a hard line against what they consider dangerous skiers and snowboarders. Some skiers, perhaps influenced by amazing X-Game exploits seen in movies, have caused havoc by racing down the mountainside at reckless speeds.;

Waivers can't stop skier suits
Pamela Manson, The Salt Lake Tribune
December 19, 2007
Ski resorts took a nasty fall Tuesday when the Utah Supreme Court ruled waivers can't prevent injured skiers from suing the resorts for negligence. Barring those suits is not in the best interests of society, the court said. The ruling will benefit both skiers and resorts, said Jesse Trentadue, the lawyer for a Utahn who sued after being seriously injured on the slopes at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in February 2003.

MTI Reports Positive Year Despite Bed-Base Challenges
Gus Jarvis, Telluride Daily Watch
December 16, 2007
Marketing Telluride, Inc. faced a number of challenges last year, including a bed-base shortage and diminished national skier visit numbers, but officials at the organization’s annual meeting last week reported the Telluride region still fared well with lodging occupancy numbers and group sales.

Pass sales, skier visits up at VR
Edward Stoner, Summit Daily News
December 10, 2007
Vail Resorts reported its customary loss for its first quarter, which covers the three slow months before the ski season starts. The Broomfield company, which runs Vail and Beaver Creek mountains, posted a loss of $24.6 million for August, September and October in its earnings report Monday.

Survey shows greener trend at ski resorts
Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
December 4, 2007
A premier Sierra ski resort that seven years ago was raided by armed federal agents investigating environmental abuses earned top honors in an environmental scorecard released Monday by conservationists. Squaw Valley USA's A grade in the Ski Area Citizens Coalition's annual ranking is part of a trend of improvement, group members said.

Branding Montrose: Survey results to aid in community philosophy
Kati O\'Hare, Montrose Daily Press
December 2, 2007
The Montrose Visitor and Convention Bureau decided Montrose needed a “brand.” A philosophy which it and others could utilize, be proud of, and one that would identify Montrose on the map. The MVCB just concluded one of the first steps in the branding process by releasing the 2007 Montrose Summer Visitor Research results Thursday night at the Montrose City Council Chambers. After the group decided to go ahead with the steps of the process at its Fall 2006 board retreat, the group hired RRC Associates out of Boulder, Colo. Through a three-prong approach, RRC collected more than 1,000 surveys from visitors and locals.

Survey says well-heeled wine fans are boosting tourism
Associated Press, East Oregonian
December 2, 2007
Walla Walla is attracting an increasingly upscale class of tourist, according to results of a five-month survey. The typical overnight visitor has an approximate average income of $109,000, travels here by private vehicle, stays more than three days at a time, visits more than seven wineries and uses the Internet to plan the trip.

Avon Wants to Stay in Avon
Matt Terrell, Vail Daily
November 17, 2007
Community leaders are discussing new ways of making the town affordable for middle class families while being reasonable for developers. Developers will be expected to examine what kind of impact they’ll have on the community based on a housing study done by RRC Associates.

Travel: Going green on global travels
Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post
November 15, 2007
As more vacationers have begun to contemplate the impact of their travels on the planet, from the greenhouse-gas emissions of their flights to the litter they leave behind in scenic areas, mainstream travel publishers have devised a new category of books to address their concerns.

DIA likely to have busy holiday travel season
Staff Report, Denver Business Journal
November 14, 2007
Denver International Airport is expected to be even busier this Thanksgiving than it was last year. That's according to online travel agency Orbitz, which said Wednesday DIA is likely to be the third-busiest domestic airport during Thanksgiving. The expectation is up from No. 5 in 2006. Orbitz bases its findings on ticket sales booked on its website with departures between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25. The Chicago and Los Angeles airports are the only domestic airports expected to be busier than Denver's.

Local Ski Biz Bets It'll Beat Global Warming
Brian Miller, Seattle Weekly
November 14, 2007
La Niña is coming with her bountiful promise of snow in the Cascades, if the forecasts prove correct. But one good season won't change the underlying--and rather discouraging--facts facing local ski areas and skiers. First, the baby boom only has so much cartilage left in its knees.

Tourism WW to roll out survey results
Vicki Hillhouse, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
November 13, 2007
Is it the wine? The art? The historic culture and renovated downtown? With more visitors making Walla Walla a vacation destination each year, local officials set out last summer to find out exactly what in the world is the big draw for this Southeastern Washington town.

How Do You Ski if There Is No Snow?
ELISABETH ROSENTHAL, New York Times
November 1, 2007
Global warming’s foes rarely cite ski resorts and golf courses among its victims. But, though they may be less adorable than penguins and less gripping than melting ice caps, resort owners and tour operators will be directly and strongly affected by climate change. Indeed, few livelihoods are more dependent on the weather, other than farmers’.

Haunted ski resorts
Charles Leocha, msnbc.com
October 31, 2007
At first ponder, ski and snowboard resorts seem strange places to find ghosts. But when you consider that many of our winter snow resorts are built in areas that once had wild and sometimes grisly histories, then the occasional appearance of an unsettled soul is perhaps not so surprising. New England, for example, has a long history of hauntings, and its tales and apparitions have spread into the trails, woods and villages surrounding the region's ski and snowboard resorts.

Orbitz Insider Index Highlights the Most Popular Ski Destinations in the U.S.
press release, Orbitz.com
October 31, 2007
The crisp mountain air is calling and fresh powder is already falling. After a long, hot summer, the winter sport season is upon us and skiers everywhere will soon flock to their favorite destinations. Whether it's a winter trip out west or waiting until spring for that rare opportunity to ski and golf in the same day, Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com), is keeping travelers 'A Step Ahead(TM)' by highlighting the most popular ski destinations -- as well as great alternatives to the traditional ski vacation.

Vail goes natural with its cuisine
Alicia Wallace, Boulder Daily Camera
October 11, 2007
In the past year, Vail Resorts Inc. has taken strides to become more energy-efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly. On Wednesday, it made another. Under the initiative, called Good Food on a Grand Scale, Vail this ski season will purchase 90 percent of its meats from Denver-based Coleman Natural Meats and 87 percent of its dairy products from Broomfield's WhiteWave Foods, which sells the Horizon Organic and Silk soy milk brands. Vail said it plans to work with all of its vendors to increase the amount of natural and organic foods offered for future seasons.

Extreme ski makeover
Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
October 7, 2007
Colorado's ski areas are going to extremes to outdo each other again this season. Collectively, resort operators and investors are sinking $3 billion - a conservative estimate at that - into ambitious makeovers that involve everything from slopeside real estate development to mountain upgrades.

To sustain growth, tourism sector must take action against climate change
, UN News Centre
October 3, 2007
The tourism industry must meet the challenges posed by climate change if it is to continue its growth, a United Nations-backed conference announced today. According to the Davos Declaration, reached at the conclusion of a three-day meeting in the Swiss town, the tourism sector must rapidly respond to climate change, within the evolving UN framework, if it is to grow in a sustainable manner.

Snowmass residents pan development
Catherine Lutz, Aspen Daily News
October 1, 2007
Surprise, surprise -- the biggest issues facing Snowmass Village relate to growth, development and construction, according to a recent community survey. Consultant Chris Cares with RRC Associates, who did the survey, told the council at its meeting last night that while the town is currently addressing some of the issues, there's enough division that you're going to have to work your way through some of these things.

Study Indicates Ski Industry is Retaining Older Participants
Troy Hawks, NSAA
September 14, 2007
Among the most prominent trends noted in the 2007 NSAA National Demographic Study is the continued aging of the visitor base, with strong growth in skiers and riders aged 45 and older. The fact that older participants are being retained in the sport in significant numbers is a welcome plus for the industry.

SKI Magazine ranks Deer Valley at No. 1
Ray Grass, Deseret Morning News
September 8, 2007
For the third time in seven years, skiers have picked Deer Valley as the resort they like to ski best. In SKI Magazine\'s annual list of top 50 resorts in North America (conducted by RRC Associates of Boulder, CO), Deer Valley was picked No. 1 this year. It also received the top billing in 2001 and 2005. In those seven years, the resort has never been rated lower than third.

Vail slips from top spot in SKI poll
Edward Stoner, The Vail Daily (free registration required)
September 7, 2007
Buzz Schleper got a good laugh when he heard that Deer Valley had supplanted Vail as the No. 1 ski resort in North America in the vaunted SKI magazine poll. “You can’t even put Deer Valley on the same page as Vail,” said Schleper, owner of Buzz’s Ski Shop in Vail. “Not even the same chapter.”