Sales of the Ski Salt Lake Super Pass jumped 54 percent during the 2003/04 ski season, leaving Salt Lake boosters looking for new ways to capitalize on the program's growing popularity. During the 2003/04 season, Super Passes accounted for nearly $2 million of lift ticket sales in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.

The discount Super Pass is available exclusively to destination skiers through local hotels and travel agent packages. It can be exchanged for lift tickets at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, Alta Ski Area, Solitude Mountain Resort, and Brighton Resort. The wholesale passes were sold for as low as $40 to out-of-state skiers and snowboarders during the 2003/04 season. To date, the bureau has sold 48,112 passes to out-of-state skiers this season compared to 12,000 passes in 2000/01 when the program was launched.

"The Super Pass makes a lot of sense for destination skiers," said Eric Thompson, director of winter sports tourism for the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The Super Pass offers value and convenience, with easy access to all four resorts, but still lets destination skiers choose a lodging package that will work for their individual needs. No matter where they stay, they can ski a different resort every day, all for the same low price."

Along with more than 1,500 on-snow lodge, condominium, and hotel rooms at the resorts, Salt Lake also offers the convenience of 16,000 additional rooms in the city. Skiers who stay slopeside at resorts enjoy mountain ambiance and convenience, while skiers who stay in town can take advantage of metropolitan amenities like shopping, dining, and nightlife. New this year, the Super Pass included free transportation from the Salt Lake Valley to the four resorts on Utah Transit Authority's TRAX light-rail line and ski bus.

While many destinations offer vacation packages, the discount Super Pass is unique to Salt Lake's ski industry. According to Thompson, the pass works in Salt Lake because of the metropolitan area's close proximity to resorts and the resorts' close proximity to each other.

"The Ski Salt Lake resorts appeal to the heart of the ski experience," Thompson said. "We don't offer a cookie-cutter ski vacation. We do offer some of the world's best natural terrain and snow conditions, affordability through the Ski Salt Lake Super Pass, and a wide range of mountain and city-based lodging options."

Together, the Ski Salt Lake resorts offer 265 runs on 6,950 skiable acres serviced by 33 lifts and the Snowbird tram. The Salt Lake resorts get more snow than competing resorts in Park City, Canada, or Colorado, making Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons especially attractive to powder hounds and other serious skiers. "Salt Lake is a magnet for skiers and snowboarders who want an unparalleled on-mountain experience," Thompson said. "Our strengths are snow quality, easy access, and value, and the Super Pass plays to those strengths."

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Media Contact: Jason Mathis +1 801-534-4913 jason@saltlake.org