Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said the organization hopes to connect the Snow League competition and the FIS Freestyle World Cup to create a nine-day festival.
Founded by three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, the Snow League freestyle competition will bring snowboard and freeski halfpipe competition to Park City Mountain Jan. 21 to 23.
The following weekend, the FIS Freestyle World Cup returns to Deer Valley Jan. 28 to 30 with moguls and aerials competitions.
Wesselhoff said the plans to connect the events are still preliminary and more details will be released soon.
“I think it’s an opportunity to really put a stake into our position as a winter sports hub, a global winter sports destination,” Wesselhoff said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Oct. 26. “It makes a lot of sense to have an event like this in January.”
However, lodging data shows a softer start to the winter booking season.
Wesselhoff said early hotel bookings for the next six months are down about 11% compared with the same time last year, while average room rates are down 3%.
She said peak season rooms are averaging about $820, down from last year’s usual $850 to $900.
She said these lower numbers don’t necessarily indicate what tourism will look like this winter.
“It’s not a forecast, but we are seeing that travelers are booking now much closer to their dates,” Wesselhoff said. “I think everyone’s just waiting for the snow to fly.”
The Park City Chamber will discuss its winter tourism outlook Wednesday at its annual fall tourism forum.
White will be the event’s featured speaker at the Grand Summit Hotel in Park City. It runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Park City Chamber Bureau is a financial supporter of KPCW.
