For the week of January 8 - 14, 2003

Economy, visitor numbers steady over holidays

Small businesses report mixed results

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Amid a drastic decline nationwide in holiday-related spending, the Wood River Valley’s sensitive, tourism-based economy produced mixed—but generally favorable—results for the weeks surrounding Christmas Day.

Sun Valley Resort reported solid visitor and skier numbers during the holiday season, while local retailers appeared to be more susceptible to the nation’s lingering economic woes and overall decline in travel.

Sturtevants owner Rob Santa said holiday business was not record setting, but added, "We did what we needed to do." Express photos by Willy Cook

Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau, said a post-holiday survey of 25 local businesses—mostly retail stores—indicated that business was generally good, with some negative results.

"Some were up, and some said it was soft," Waller said. "Overall, it’s being billed as a decent year."

She said 12 of the 25 businesses reported an increase in sales compared to last year’s holiday season, while nine reported a decline and four indicated that their sales numbers were approximately the same.

"Business really picked up the week after Christmas" Waller said. "And it was quite welcome because early December was slow overall."

Sun Valley Resort, the region’s flagship business and primary winter attraction, reported strong, but not exceptional, sales at its lodges, restaurants, and two local ski mountains.

Jack Sibbach, director of marketing and public relations for Sun Valley Co., said business picked up dramatically around Christmas Day.

"We had a very, very good week between Christmas and New Year’s Day," Sibbach said. "Occupancy was high, and the skier count was quite good."

Sibbach said skier counts on Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain during the week from Christmas through New Year’s Day were down slightly when compared to last year. Sun Valley Co. hosted 42,929 skiers during the week, while the same period last year produced a count of 44,347 skiers.

Holiday customers beamed with Christmas cheer, though business was slightly less than expected, considering Sun Valley’s great snow, said Formula Sports owner Bob Gordon, shown fitting custom insoles for Desiree Baldwin of Ketchum. Express photos by Willy Cook

Sibbach noted that the slight decline could almost certainly be attributed to several days of cloudy and snowy weather, which kept some fair-weather skiers indoors despite the abundance of fresh snow.

Skier numbers lulled at 4,920 during a winter storm on Dec. 31, but surged uncharacteristically on New Year’s Day to 7,329, Sibbach said.

"It was a much busier New Year’s Day than we normally have," he said.

Bald Mountain received a considerable 39 inches of new snow during the three days preceding New Year’s Day.

Sibbach noted that Sun Valley Resort rented out approximately 490 rooms during the peak period of the holidays, with more than one-third of the visitors checking out New Year’s Day.

He said the resort fared better than predicted during the holiday season, but is still seeing an overall decline in business from years prior to the economic downturn of 2001.

"We’re still feeling the effects of the slow economy, and I think we will for a while," he said. He noted that corporate travel—one of the resort’s longtime staples—is generally "the first to go and the last to come back" during a slow economy.

Nationwide, retail sales during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas were reported to be down an estimated 11 percent from last year.

Several local business owners contacted by the Idaho Mountain Express confirmed that local results were indeed mixed.

"It’s the economy, stupid," said Coffee Grinder owner Nicola Potts. "We’re not immune."

James Funk, 20-year owner of Desperado’s, said sales this Christmas were flat compared with previous holiday periods. He said it is difficult to put a finger on any one thing that is responsible for static business.

Area ski shops also reported a very busy, but not record setting, holiday period.

"We did what we needed to do," said Sturtevants Ski and Sports owner Rob Santa.

Santa said the busy Christmas was a God-send following several very slow weeks in December.

"Up to about the 21^st, things around town were pretty well dead," he said. "The table’s set, and you’re waiting to see who’s coming to dinner."

As it turned out, a number of upbeat vacationers arrived.

"It was very busy," said Bob Gordon, owner of Formula Sports. "People were excited about the snow and really happy to be here."

But Gordon said he anticipated slightly better results than what he got.

"I would have expected it to be busier because we are one of the only places with any snow," he said.

Sibbach of Sun Valley Co. said the resort is expecting a generally "fair" economic performance over the course of the winter ski season.

Waller agreed the outlook is good, but not great.

"The good thing is the snow we’ve had in the last two weeks has really helped," she said. "The word has gotten out."

 

(Express reporter Greg Stahl contributed to this report.)

 

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