Consumer confidence rises for second month in a row… HOWEVER

The Consumer Confidence Index increased for the second month in a row this December, according to The Conference Board, a New York-based research group.

However, the overall index continues to measure lower than usual, and has slid since August. Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, explains that a chronically low CCI could be a warning light for 2010. “It tells me folks are seeing little tangible improvements in the economic environment, and there’s a huge disconnect with what happening in the stock market and what’s happening on Main Street,” Vitner said.

Source: CNNMoney.com. Read More…

December 18th, almost everybody in town is in merry mood for Christmas. the Christmas cheer is in the air. it is snowing, snow is in the forecast EVERYDAY for the next week. hopefully 3-5 inches at a time, AT LEAST.  I have lived in summit county since 1995, we are always wanting more snow and more open terrain at the resorts. to me this is par for the course. i hit the slopes at Copper on my day off monday the 14th, i had 5 inches of the fresh stuff, what a pleasure to have a powder day so early in the season, just a great early season day. Over the next two weeks there alot of fun and exciting events in town,  Me and my kids are looking forward to the DEW tour especially, some huge air at Breckenridge’s awesome half pipe. I have found this  very informative web site. check out this website  www.rmrminc.net  they have all summit county events on there web site. So everybody pray to ULLR for some more snow. Merry Christmas Happy New Year

Community Stakeholder,

I am pleased to inform you that Intrawest has entered into an agreement to sell its interests in Copper Mountain to Powdr Corp, a leading mountain resort operator based in Park City, Utah. The transaction is expected to close in December 2009 and the definitive purchase agreement is subject to regulatory approvals including the issuance of a U.S. Forest Service special-use permit to Powdr Corp.

We believe this transaction represents a positive outcome for Copper Mountain and it will provide numerous benefits to Summit County. Powdr Corp operates several ski resorts throughout North America and Copper will be an important addition to their resort family and their first resort property in Colorado.

This winter season it will be “business as usual” and there will be no impacts on the guest experience. The team at Copper will continue to provide the exceptional level of service that our customers, passholders and homeowners have come to expect. All vacation reservations and season pass products will be honored as per usual. This includes all joint marketing initiatives with Steamboat Resort and Winter Park, including the popular Rocky Mountain Super Pass suite of products that provide access to ski and ride at Copper Mountain, Steamboat and Winter Park.

As a key member of our community, I will continue to keep you updated on this initiative as we move through this process over the coming months. I look forward to seeing you on the slopes of Copper this season.

Regards,

GARY RODGERS
PRESIDENT, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER COPPER MOUNTAIN RESORT

Ullr blessed us with a fresh coat yesterday and evening!!  Most areas in Summit County received 2-4 inches.  This is the first snow that caused me to grab the ol’ snow shovel and get summarily to work on my driveway and it seems this coating will not be melted away even at lower elevations.  The gear is in shape, waxed and ready to go for Copper Mountain this weekend.  This will be my first foray for the season (I do not go usually until the first good snow that sticks at lower elev.) and I am ready to get up and hit some terrain I haven’t seen in months!  Many Ski and Snowboard Teams have already descended on Summit County and opening weekend has already come and gone (last weekend).  The snow is here and all indication point to a enormous snow year with El Nino blowing moisture our direction.  So get your gear together too and come check out the new blanket of white spread over Summit County.

The October 31, 2009 Reservations Activity Outlook and Daily Occupancy Report (if applicable for your Destination) have been completed and posted in the secure portal at www.mtrip.org.  We are now moving to the roll-up of all Property and Destination-level reports into the overall Industry view, which will be posted during in the latter part of the November 9 – 13 week.

Below is a ‘first look’ at the economic indicators for early November.  In addition to the Economic Indicators, which will be published on November 10th, be sure to watch for the Mountain Travel Monitor, which we will publish with our Industry-Wide reports on or about November 15th, and which includes a full-scale review of the current situation in the Mtn Travel Industry.

Some early highlights:

§  The Consumer Confidence Index, declined in October as Consumers displayed some degree of anxiety regarding both the short- and long-term economy, most specifically national unemployment figures (see below).

§  View the Consumer Confidence Index here

·         The Consumer Price Index decreased moderately in September for the first time since January, 2009, due in large part to decreases in lodging rates, air fares deflationary economy.

§  Click here for Consumer Price Index

·         The Unemployment Rate increased considerably in October from 9.8% to 10.2% nationally, with 570,000 net jobs lost during the month and 15.7 million unemployed persons.  This is the 11th increase in the Unemployment Rate in the past 12 months.

§  Click here for the U.S. Unemployment Rate

This summary is one of several initiatives that we are taking to help provide vital market data for resort communities and their tourism.

As always, we appreciate your support and are interested in your suggestions and feedback; let us know what we can do to help.

information via MTRIP, LLC

By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY

In this year’s airfare wars, just how low did they go?

The average domestic fare in the second quarter was nearly identical to ticket prices during that period in 1998, according to statistics released Wednesday.

The average fare for a domestic trip from April to June was $301, down 13% from a year earlier and the steepest year-over-year dip in nearly 15 years, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports.

Before this year, the biggest year-over-year drop was between the fourth quarter of 2000 and the fourth quarter of 2001, after the terror attacks of Sept. 11. The average price of a domestic trip slipped 11.8% then, the bureau says.

Airfare trackers say that the decline isn’t surprising. Since late last year, airlines have repeatedly slashed fares to try to entice cash-strapped travelers who are forgoing vacations and business trips in the midst of a deep recession.

“They thought if they reduced capacity they’d be able to maintain pricing power,” George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog.com says of airlines cutting the number of available seats to match reduced passenger demand. “But … the worsening of the economy surpassed what they could accomplish with capacity cuts. So they found themselves with empty seats.”

To fill them, says Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, “Airfares were in free fall from November … and the discounting never stopped.”

A drop in the number of business travelers, whose premium-priced tickets could normally make up for some cheaper seats going empty, compelled airlines to chase after vacationers.

“You have to get leisure travelers to fly, and the only way to get them off the couch and onto the computer is to discount,” Seaney says.

Fares have started to creep up, however. Last week, Delta introduced a $10 fare increase, with the rest of the big legacy airlines following suit, Seaney says.

In contrast to last year, when there were 15 domestic fare increases, there have only been five this year, he says. All of those have been since mid-June.

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He and other airfare trackers say that with the exception of peak travel times around the holidays, when fares traditionally spike, sales will continue through the end of the year. Southwest sparked another round of sales Tuesday.

“I think we’ll continue to see discounting,” he says, “until we see a comeback of the business traveler.”

Among the top 100 airports, Huntsville, Ala., had the highest average domestic fare in the second quarter at $471. Atlantic City had the lowest, at $185, the bureau reported.