{"id":24363,"date":"2018-02-22T21:13:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T05:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=24363"},"modified":"2018-11-11T22:25:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T06:25:22","slug":"climate-change-threatens-11-3-billion-snowsports-industry-protect-our-winters-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/climate-change-threatens-11-3-billion-snowsports-industry-protect-our-winters-report-says","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Threatens $11.3 Billion Snowsports Industry, Protect Our Winters Report Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The winter sports tourism industry in the U.S. added $11.3 billion in economic value and supported more than 191,000 jobs in the 2015\u20132016 winter season, according to a new report from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/protectourwinters.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protect Our Winters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (POW). But warmer winters and decreased snowfall \u201cthreaten the livelihood of an entire industry,\u201d says the nonprofit climate change advocacy group founded by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/protectourwinters.org\/2018-economic-report\/\">The Economic Contributions of Winter Sports in a Changing Climate<\/a>,\u201d specifically measured the ski (downhill ski and snowboard) and snowmobile industries. It also examined the impact of climate change on winter sports economies and the snowsports themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the 2015\u20132016 season, 23.5 million Americans took part in winter outdoor recreation, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snowsports.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Snowsports Industries America<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Downhill skiing was the most popular, with 9.3 million participants, followed by 7.6 million snowboarders.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That added up to 52.8 million skiing and snowboarding days (visits).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-article_body wp-image-24366\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/02\/Rinckenberger_031416_0418.jpg?resize=1024%2C682\" alt=\"Downhill skiier\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the key findings in the report:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ski, snowboard and snowmobile participation supported more than 191,000 jobs, generated $6.9 billion in wages and added $11.3 billion in economic value to the U.S. economy (or $20.3 billion in output).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report found the profits from the ski and snowmobile industries \u201cextend beyond the slopes\u201d by helping support nearby hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, grocery stores, sporting goods stores and gas stations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In high snow years, POW\u2019s analysis showed increased skier participation resulted in an extra $692.9 million in value added and 11,800 extra jobs compared to an average season.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduced participation in low snow years cost 17,400 jobs and decreased value added by more than $1 billion compared to an average season. \u201cThe effects of low snow years impact the economy more dramatically than those of high snow years,\u201d the report says.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among individual states, Colorado saw the highest economic contribution from these winter sports: More than 43,000 jobs and $2.56 billion in economic value added in 2016. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the 1980s, the number of operating ski areas in the country has dropped from more than 700 to around 460. (<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vanat.ch\/RM-world-report-2017-vanat.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valant, 2017<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The latest study updates <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/protectourwinters.org\/climate_report\/report.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a 2012 report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> released by POW and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which found the winter sports tourism industry added $12.2 billion in economic value and 23 million Americans participated in winter sports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Next week on the Co-op Journal, we\u2019ll take an in-depth look at the new report from POW and share reaction from people directly impacted, from ski resorts to professional athletes.<\/strong> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Editor\u2019s Note: Protect Our Winters is one of REI\u2019s nonprofit partners, and REI helped fund the report, \u201cThe Economic Contributions of Winter Sports in a Changing Climate.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The winter sports tourism industry in the U.S. added $11.3 billion in economic value and supported more than 191,000 jobs in the 2015\u20132016 winter season, according to a new report from Protect Our Winters (POW). But warmer winters and decreased snowfall \u201cthreaten the livelihood of an entire industry,\u201d says the nonprofit climate change advocacy group 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