The Vail Valley basked in more than the glow of daily sunshine during the two-week World Alpine Ski Championships at Beaver Creek in February.
The surge of visitors filled the valley’s coffers to record levels.
A lot of these major events tend to pinch resort business in tourist destinations — Vail Resorts reported a downturn in visitation during the international showcase of the world’s top ski racers. Organizers tend to focus on the long-range impacts that come from television cameras splashing images of picturesque vistas across the globe, hopefully spurring people to book a vacation the following year.
But the towns of Vail and Avon saw a big surge during the event, with sales and accommodations taxes soaring as tens of thousands of visitors rallied for the season’s biggest show on snow.
In Vail, sales tax revenue climbed to $3.6 million in February, about 3 percent above the previous February and fueling a seasonal sales tax harvest tracking toward a record high.
Avon saw its accommodations sales tax revenue climb 16 percent in February and its sales tax revenue hit a record for the month at $789,000, up 17 percent from February 2014.
“The championships were a great cultural and economic event for us,” said Virginia Egger, the town manager for Avon, which hosted 12 days of after-racing parties in its renovated downtown. “Everyone worked so hard and to have the vision become reality — with big sunny days — was most rewarding.”
Event host Vail Valley Foundation estimated the championship generated 29,604 room nights, each at an average nightly rate of $470. Occupancy in the valley swelled to 95 percent on the weekends, with visitors spread across Vail, Beaver Creek, Avon, Edwards and even Summit County. The average stay was more than six days. Overall, the valley’s lodging numbers pushed ahead about 5 percent over the previous February.
“It was just a great month overall,” said Brian Nolan, whose Group 970 restaurant outfit saw its five valley eateries bustle with strong group business throughout the 14-day championship. “Everyone worked aggressively to book parties and events ahead of time, and that worked well. We sold part of one of our restaurants for 15 days to one group. Then the last two weeks of February we jumped right back into normal February business. It was better than we expected and everything we hoped for.”
The bump is nice, especially when such large events tend to deter visitors who aren’t spectators, but the real gains should come next season.
Organizers say 800 million people across the world watched the races on NBC. The network and its affiliates offered 35 hours of domestic live coverage, up from six hours in 1999, the last time the world championships were in Vail.
The Vail Valley Foundation says the event generated 70 billion public-relations impressions — a coup fueled by digital marketing and social media.
“The benefit is really seen in subsequent years,” said Duncan Horner, the head of marketing for the Vail Valley Foundation.
In 1990, the year after the valley hosted its first world championships, international visitation climbed 14 percent. In 2000, after the 1999 world championships, the valley’s two ski resorts and dozens of lodges saw a similar increase in international visitors, who tend to spend more and stay longer with average stays between 10 and 14 days.
“We expect this trend to continue into next year with countries such as Canada, the U.K. and Austria having accounted for some of the largest amount of visitors during the champs,” Horner said.
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins
Town of Vail taxable sales in february: (taxed at 4 percent)
2015: $88.1 million
2014: $86.9 million
2013: $81.7 million
2012: $74.7 million
2011: $70.1 million
2010: $64.4 million
2009: $64.7 million