Local businesses that cater to visitors to the Sun Valley area know that July and August make or break the year.
All of the numbers aren't in yet, but when local-option sales tax numbers for the last big month of the summer come in, we'll all find out if business was up, down or stagnant for the year.
In a national economy in which growth among service businesses declined in four of the last six months and which added no net jobs in August, expectations are low. Even so, relative to two previous years, things likely will look somewhat better.
The summer season was jam-packed with events that appeal to people of all ages and all abilities. Unlike a lot of mountain towns, the Sun Valley area is more than a wide spot in the road where visitors stop for a little rest and refreshment. It's a destination that presents world-class performers in sports, music and art, as well as history-based events like the Days of the Old West in Hailey and Wagon Days in Ketchum.
The level of visitor and business activity in July and August is proof that events effectively bring in visitors, stimulate sales and sustain the local economy. In those months, the single week that had a slight lull in events saw a big drop in hotel occupancies, even though occupancies were still high relative to an ordinary week in the winter.
Winter should take a lesson from summer. While ski vacations are the foundation of the winter economy, simply having the ski lifts open and the Nordic trails groomed won't make cash registers ring the way they need to.
If we learn anything from summer, it should be that the valley needs more notable winter events—regional, national and international racing, and other high-level events—and the marketing muscle to pull them off.
Without these, winter will continue to be a frozen season in more ways than one.
