Study shows skier visits up statewide

Montana has seen an increase in skiers over the last four years, a trend Whitefish Mountain Resort has been no stranger to.

A new study released by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research shows a four-year growth and a 30-year positive trajectory for skier visits across the state, and along with that a positive impact economically.

Nationally, ski resorts saw an 11% increase in visits last winter, totaling 59 million visits. Montana as a whole saw a 7% growth in the same time period.

This is hardly news to Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Last winter, Whitefish capped off its 71st season this spring with another record for total skier visits at 384,000. That set a new record for the third consecutive year with an increase of 3,000 total skier visits over the previous year’s high.

Before skiers even hit the slopes, the mountain had already set a new record in by October 2018 for winter season pass sales, breaking the 10,000 mark and adding a third straight year of record season pass sales. Last year’s 10,000-plus total is 11 percent ahead of the previous winter’s sales.

A total of 1,658 skiers flocked to the mountain on opening day on Dec. 6.

Riley Polumbus, WMR spokesperson, said she sees the skier visit and pass sale records as a result of migration to the Flathead Valley.

“Last year we went over 10,000 passes for the first time and that’s definitely because there’s more people in the Valley,” she said. “As more people move to the Valley and know that skiing is such a big part of our recreation, seeing the number of passes go up demonstrates more people are interested in that outdoor recreation and that’s probably part of the reason they move here.”

Altogether, the study surveyed 1,144 residents and 813 nonresidents at Big Sky, Bridger Bowl, Discovery, Red Lodge, Showdown and Whitefish.

The group surveyed at WMR was made up of 147 residents and 113 nonresidents for a total of 260.

According to the study, residents in Montana spend on average $288 per trip, while nonresidents account for an average of nearly $1,600 per trip.

As a whole, nonresident visitor spending generated a direct economic impact of $105.3 million and a total impact of $176.8 million and 1,970 jobs, according to the study. These figures only count spending during the ski season, and resorts open through the summer, like WMR, yield additional economic impacts.

In just Whitefish alone, nonresident skiing last winter contributed $12.1 million to the state economy.

The largest percentage of out-of-state visitors came from Alberta, totaling 18% of nonresidents. The second highest group was from California at 12%, followed by Washington at 10%.

Meanwhile, 80% of resident skiers traveled less than 25 miles to ski in Whitefish.

For nonresident visitors, location was the top reason for choosing Whitefish, followed by recommendations from a friend.

Roughly three-quarters of those surveyed were skiers, while only a quarter were snowboarders.

Polumbus said while historically the resort has relied heavily — and still does — on visitors coming to ski from Alberta, in the past few years there’s been a push to open new markets in locations like California, Oregon and even Chicago, which has been made easier with new direct flight routes at Glacier Park International Airport.

When she compares WMR to other Montana resorts, Polumbus says what stands out to her is the way the resort has been able to thrive in recent years while still maintaining the feel of a local ski hill.

“When the state looks at our ski areas, they see Whitefish and Big Sky, here’s the two big resorts and the other ones are all little gems. But I look at this and see that Big Sky really caters to the destination, they’ve got more paid visits than locals. We’re closer to the middle. I think that’s a successful formula for us that’s worked really well and maybe historically been a part of who we are as a ski area,” she said. “It still feels like a community ski area because we’ve got so many great locals and passholders, yet at the same time we can handle this number of visitors.”

The full study is available online at www.itrr.umt.edu.