Utah is expected to see more extremely snowy and extremely dry years — and fewer “normal” years — as the global average temperature increases.
Local skiers and riders might complain after a record low year like last winter. But Ski Utah President and CEO Nathan Rafferty said tourists don’t always feel the same way.
He pointed out they’re frequently trading views of highways, rooftops or skyscrapers for the Wasatch Range.
“I talked to a bunch of resorts that had some of their best [net promoter scores] ever, which is kind of a measure of how people felt when they were at the ski areas,” Rafferty said. “ I think they really felt like the staff at these ski areas were making the best of what was happening.”
National Ability Center CEO Willie Ford agrees. The two were part of a winter tourism panel at the annual Zions Bank Wasatch Back Economic Summit May 10.
Despite the scientific consensus that humans collectively are accelerating climate change, Ford said he can’t control the weather.
“Two questions you have to ask yourself [as a business]: what things do we actually have control over, and of the things that we do have control over, which can we make better for our customer?” he said.
Ford said inconsistent weather doesn’t mean he can’t provide a great experience for the athletes with disabilities his organization serves. The NAC has summer programming in both Park City and Moab.
An estimated two-thirds of Summit County's sales tax dollars come from visitor spending.
And Utah isn’t giving up on winter sports since the Games are returning in 2034. Still, state leaders are thinking about other sources of revenue.
Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity Deputy Commissioner Natalie Randall said that’s based on feedback from recent tourist surveys.
“What visitors were saying is, ‘Yeah, we're still coming. We're still experiencing the ski product. We are still doing those items, but we also are having to find other opportunities too,’” she said on Monday’s panel.
The Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau took short-term measures this past winter to help guests enjoy the mountains without snow.
Randall said the state is focused on three types of activities in the long term: agritourism, astrotourism and film tourism.
This year’s Wasatch Back Economic Summit had an entire panel discussion about agritourism, featuring the founders of Heber Valley Artisan Cheese, 3 Springs Land and Livestock and Ballerina Farm.
Brendan Coyle, winemaker at Dendric Estate near Kamas, said there’s no better way for farming to survive when it's on such expensive land close to Park City's ski resorts.
“When you're just doing traditional agriculture and traditional ranching on land that has that high value, the pressures are massive,” Coyle said. “But that's when value-added agriculture and agritourism can really shine.”
That’s because his customers overlap with Vail’s and Alterra’s.
By astrotourism, Randall means making the night sky an attraction in itself through Dark Sky certifications and lighting regulations.
And even without the Sundance Film Festival, Utah tourism leaders are trading on more than 100 years of iconic film history to draw visitors. The state advertises the “Utah Film Trail,” where cinephiles can see where their favorite western, sci-fi or teen flick was made.
Park City’s arts organizers hope to fill that Sundance-sized hole with local programming too.
Visitors spend $13 billion in Utah every year, according to Randall.
Rafferty and Ford? They’re hopeful skiing remains a part of that.
“At the end of the day, you're just not in the ski industry if you're not an optimist,” Rafferty said.
Early data, he said, points to a better winter next year.
