The ballroom was buzzing at Stein Eriksen Lodge last week as we hosted another sold-out Tourism Fall Forum, sponsored by America First Credit Union. Beyond the excitement of our annual “Welcome to Winter” kickoff, attendees enjoyed an avalanche of insights offering reasons for optimism for the coming season — with the caveat that events and snowfall are ever-present wild cards.
Ski Utah’s Nathan Rafferty highlighted Utah’s steady ski industry performance revealing that Utah has ranked third nationally every season since 2015–16 — behind only Colorado and California — and continues to post year-over-year gains.
With the 2034 Olympic Games inching closer, Park City is leading Utah’s $500 million wave of resort improvements. Deer Valley’s record 4,300-acre terrain expansion is this season’s headliner, adding 100 new runs, 10 lifts, and the 10-passenger East Village Express gondola. Park City Mountain debuts its new 10-passenger Sunrise Gondola to Red Pine and 650 additional parking spaces in the partially completed Canyons Village garage. Across the region, more resorts are expanding terrain, upgrading lodges, and adding hotels and restaurants.
Blue Room Research’s Steve Halasz offered an in-depth look at economic trends, predicting that the national economy will cool until early next year, then strengthen through 2026 and into 2027. Locally, however, visitation remains strong. According to Destimetrics data tracking more than 4,000 local hotel rooms, year-to-date occupancy through September averaged 46 percent — up four points from last year. Even better, advance bookings for the next six months are up 7 percent, although average daily room rates have dipped 4 percent.
Steve also shared eye-opening consumer data showing that neither Park City nor its visitors fit the “average consumer” profile. Nationally, discretionary spending by the top 20 percent of earners is at its highest level since 1984 — and Park City is squarely in that bracket, with 69 percent of visitor households earning over $200,000.
Our winter Mountainkind campaign speaks directly to this sophisticated audience. We’re promoting Park City in 15 major domestic markets as a one-of-a kind destination for winter adventure and relaxation where nature and community converge. We’re also expanding into three promising new markets: Austin, Houston and Tampa.
Our goal is to strengthen positive perception of the Mountainkind brand and increase visitor spending — especially longer hotel stays — since winter remains our key economic driver. Local businesses report earning about 60 percent of their annual revenue during the four winter months.
Utah Office of Tourism Director Natalie Randall reported that Utahns themselves are major players in the recreation economy. Residents account for 43 percent of skier days and roughly a quarter of overall winter spending. A recent statewide survey found that 80 percent of Utahns moved here primarily for outdoor recreation and support sharing our beautiful state with others: 58 percent believe visitors’ positive impact outweighs negatives, two-thirds see tourism and resource protection as compatible, and 79 percent support visitor education on responsible recreation.
Finally, Open Snow’s Evan Thayer wrapped things up with a forecast that brought cheers: Our snowfall is expected to be — yes — better than Colorado’s!
The forum underscored that Park City — and our organization — are well prepared for a promising ski season. Now, we’ll keep one eye on the sky and the other on the headlines.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in last Friday’s Live/Give campaign. So many chamber partners are generous contributors and recipient agencies, and I’m grateful to each of you.
And this Veterans Day upon us, I want to extend special thanks to the veterans in our community. We’re deeply proud to count so many of these heroes as part of the Park City business family.
Jennifer Wesselhoff is the president and CEO of the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.