White gold: Who’s skiing in North Carolina, and how much are they spending?

CHARLOTTE — Despite lackluster snow totals last winter, North Carolina’s ski resorts still generated a big economic impact for the state.

The North Carolina Ski Areas Association on Wednesday released the statistics from its newest study of the state’s snowsports industry.

According to the new report, the 2022-2023 winter season saw about $244.3 million generated by NC’s six ski areas. That includes Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, Hatley Pointe Ski Resort, Sapphire Valley Ski Area, and Sugar Mountain Resort.

The report says just over 780,000 skier visits were logged across the winter, with the average person staying three nights in the area. That’s up from about 631,000 in the 2019-2020 season.

The economic report, which was conducted by RRC Associates, says most visitors were from North Carolina, but about 12% of visitors were from Georgia, and 10% were from South Carolina. It also noted that about 37% of visitors were first-timers or beginner skiers/snowboarders.

It looks like the Queen City is also home to NC’s downhill aficionados. The report says that about 27% of all skiers and snowboarders live in the Charlotte area.

So how much were all of those people spending? The report says the average person spent about $160 per day, with an even split between on-mountain and off-mountain expenditures.

And you don’t need to afford the Aspen lifestyle either. The economic report says the majority of skiers and snowboarders are from households making $50,000 to $150,000 annually.

This was all during the fourth-warmest winter on record, according to the North Carolina State Climate Office. Snowfall totals were also drastically lower than average years; the state climate office reported Banner Elk seeing 12.8 inches of snow, compared to an average of 31.4 inches. Even the state’s highest mountain, Mount Mitchell, averages about 89.1 inches of snow, but last winter only brought it 19.9 inches.

Ski areas invested about $16 million in capital expenditures, according to the report. Some resorts also installed additional snowmaking capabilities in the off-season.

Some ski resorts are already open in North Carolina for the 2023-2024 season. See current snow reports at this link.

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