WHISTLER, British Columbia -- As an especially challenging ski season in the American West wraps up, industry stakeholders are mostly optimistic ahead of next year.
But at the Mountain Travel Symposium here this month, ski industry marketers brainstormed about how to promote winter mountain tourism to a broader base of people, with less dependence on snow sports.
"Is it time to de-emphasize sports in winter travel?" was the heading of one slide presented by Madeline List, the manager of research and special projects at Phocuswright. This year, the conference, which is put on by Travel Weekly parent company Northstar Travel Group, drew nearly 900 ski industry suppliers, sellers, tour operators and buyers from around the world.
New survey results presented at the conference by Phocuswright showed that 54% of people who have taken an overnight winter sports vacation since 2022 would select a mountain destination in winter, with or without snow, over someplace warm enough to swim.
Natural beauty, peace and quiet, the feeling of winter coziness and other opportunities for physical activities were among the most cited reasons for why such a trip would still be worth it.
The 2025-26 season had historically weak snowfall across the U.S. Mountain West, especially in Colorado and Utah. According to data from the website On The Snow cited at the conference by Tom Foley, director of intelligence for ski industry e-commerce provider Inntopia, 68% of ski area terrain was open on average in the West this season through March 31, compared with 93% in the East.
Data from Destimetrics, a division of Inntopia, shows that the occupancy rate in Mountain West ski resort towns this winter season was 47.9%, down from 51.3% last year. That includes occupancy for hotels, condos and private homes.
Tory Kargl, vice president of market development for Tourism Whistler, said the weak season could diminish demand ahead of 2026-27, especially among international visitors.
"We will potentially see a snow hangover next year," she said. "That is the typical cycle we see."
But some tour operators at the symposium were reporting just the opposite so far during the early booking period.
"We have a higher lead volume early in our season than ever," said Cat Iwanchuk, vice president of business development at Ski.com, the largest ski vacation packager in the U.S. "People are definitely looking at their trips for next year."
Crystal Foster, CEO of tour operator Skigroup.net, said that she has almost 40 groups on the books for next year, compared to the 10 to 20 groups that would be typical for this time of year.
The poor snow this winter has created pent-up demand, she said.
"A lot of people's seasons were cut short. So, I think they're ready, and it is showing," Foster said.
Iwanchuk said that for next season, Ski.com is guiding clients toward higher-elevation ski areas with more consistent snowfall. She also said that guests are asking more about nonskiing activities such as snowshoeing and snowmobiling and that ski destinations are placing more emphasis on attracting nonskiers, or people with multiple activity interests.
Efforts by ski destinations to broaden their appeal to nonskiers aren't new, evidenced by the growth in attractions such as snow-tubing hills and mountain coasters. Kargl said the industry has also increased its efforts over time to market to a broader group of potential visitors.
"But I still think there's lots of work to be done," she said.
In the meantime, everyone associated with the ski industry, including ski town locals, can do their part to assist with resilience during weak snow years by simply being more positive, said Ski Utah vice president of marketing Raelene Davis.
"I had people who stayed with me and skied this winter. Loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it," she said.