The 22 ski areas that belong to trade association Colorado Ski Country USA reported in June that their cumulative skier visits increased 7.6% in 2020-21 over the abbreviated prior season.

Despite the rebound, skier visits were down about 3.7% last winter from the five-year average, according to Colorado Ski Country USA. There was “record visitation from out-of-state visitors, modest increases in in-state visits and a sharp decline in international visits in 2020-21,” according to a news release.

While the 2019-20 season bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, it still impacted last winter. Some ski areas operated with capacity limits. In addition, snow conditions were below normal in the early and middle season. Business picked up late as pandemic concerns eased and snow piled up.

Colorado Ski Country doesn’t release skier visits for individual resorts. In addition, the trade association’s numbers present only a partial picture of the ski season because Vail Resorts doesn’t belong to the trade group.

When Vail’s ski areas are added to the mix, Colorado had total skier visits of about 12 million for 2020-21, Colorado Ski Country estimated. The trade association estimated business at a record 13.8 million visits in 2018-19.

This story is from AspenTimes.com.