The average lift ticket was $44 in 2001 in New England. With inflation, that ticket should cost $59 today, but it actually costs $75. Why?
Back in 2001, ski resorts had chairlifts that carried you to the top of the mountain, base lodges where you could warm up between runs, and snowmaking systems that could produce snow when Mother Nature couldn’t.
15 years later, what’s changed? The answer is not much. Chairlifts still take you up the mountain. They might be a little faster, but now the lines are longer and the trails are more crowded. The base lodges still keep you warm, but good luck trying to find an empty chair or table to sit at. And the snowmaking systems still produce snow, but just like the 15 years ago, they don’t work unless it’s below freezing.
If not much has changed in the product that ski resorts offer, why are lift ticket prices so much higher? That’s a great question, but unfortunately there probably isn’t a great answer. Supply (the number of ski resorts open in the area) and demand (the number of people who want to ski and snowboard) have been relatively constant in New England. The one major change in the industry is consolidation: large corporations are purchasing multiple ski resorts when they used to be individually owned and operated. When a few major players have the majority of the market share, they have the ability to influence lift ticket prices for the entire ski industry.
Consolidation isn’t bad for all aspects of the industry, but if you want to go skiing or snowboarding this weekend, you’ll be paying A LOT more than you would have 15 years ago. That’s why we created No Boundaries. We know that most people can only hit the slopes on the weekends, when most resorts raise their lift ticket prices and there are almost no deals to be found. If you’re sick and tired of prices rising as fast as they have, keep your eye on No Boundaries this winter and subscribe to our email list. We may not be able to change the industry trends overnight, but we’ll certainly help save you some money this season.
*Thanks to NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com for the ticket price data
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