Salt Lake City Tops List Of North America's Best Bargain Ski Hot Spots For Winter Wanderers

TripAdvisor's Inaugural Ski Destination Cost Comparison Index Reveals Top Resorts in U.S. and Canada Where Travelers Can Hit the Slopes and Save

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TripAdvisor

Dec 13, 2011, 06:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today launched its inaugural TripIndex Ski – a cost comparison of 20 popular ski destinations across the United States and Canada.

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TripAdvisor's TripIndex Ski presents the combined cost of one night's hotel accommodation, a basic ski rental package, a one-day lift ticket, a local meal and a bottle/glass of beer at top ski destinations.

The complete TripIndex Ski list can be viewed at http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.TripIndexSkiUS.

Top Skiing Steals and Deals

Salt Lake City, Utah is the most affordable ski destination, with a total TripIndex Ski cost of $239.
North Conway, New Hampshire is the least expensive ski destination in the Northeast, coming in on TripAdvisor's TripIndex Ski at $240.
Taos, New Mexico topped the list for the cheapest ski destination for travelers looking to enjoy America's western slopes ($250).
Banff, Alberta came out on top for the best-value Canadian destination for winter sports enthusiasts, with a total TripIndex Ski cost of $287

Most Expensive Winter Escapes

With a price tag of $746, Vail, Colorado emerged as the priciest ski spot.
Colorado is also the overall most expensive state for U.S. skiers, with four of the top five most expensive destinations on the index.
Whistler, British Columbia is the priciest Canadian ski destination, coming out at a TripIndex Ski total of $486.

New England Most Pocket-Friendly Region

The northeast is the most affordable U.S. region for travelers seeking a winter deal, reveals TripIndex Ski – with North Conway (New Hampshire), Stowe (Vermont) and Killington (Vermont) included in the top 10 most affordable destinations. Travelers who visit these destinations can expect to enjoy the slopes for between $240 – $401.

Cutting Costs on Accommodations

The top ten affordable ski destinations also have the most pocket-friendly hotel rates:

A one-night stay in Salt Lake City, Utah – the most affordable TripIndex Ski hotspot – is $122, compared to $582 in Vail, Colorado.
Eight of the ten most affordable destinations boast average hotel prices under $200 per night, while rates across five of the ten most expensive destinations exceed $400 per night.

"For travelers who are looking for a snowy escape, TripIndex Ski provides an easy way to compare the most popular ski destinations across North America," said Karen Drake, senior director of communications at TripAdvisor. "TripIndex Ski is a useful tool for travelers who are looking to get the best bang for their buck this winter season."

Best Value Ski Destinations in North America

	Destination	Hotel	Ski Rental	Lift Ticket	Meal	Beer	Total cost
1	Salt Lake City, UT	$122.30	$32.67	$70.67	$9.31	$3.63	$238.58
2	North Conway, NH	$121.72	$37.33	$69.00	$8.41	$3.42	$239.88
3	Taos, NM	$134.04	$28.00	$75.00	$8.67	$3.83	$249.54
4	Jackson Hole, WY	$148.28	$36.83	$85.00	$10.25	$3.67	$284.03
5	Snowshoe, WV	$160.94	$32.00	$79.00	$8.66	$3.67	$284.27
6	Banff, AB, Canada	$159.81	$36.00	$73.00	$12.47	$5.50	$286.78
7	Stowe, VT	$171.92	$38.67	$79.00	$10.17	$4.20	$303.96
8	Lake Tahoe, CA	$187.55	$38.00	$80.00	$14.67	$4.75	$324.97
9	Lake Placid, NY	$251.98	$35.33	$79.00	$11.33	$3.83	$381.47
10	Killington, VT	$267.22	$34.33	$86.00	$9.15	$4.17	$400.87

Most Expensive Ski Destinations in North America

	Destination	Hotel	Ski Rental	Lift Ticket	Meal	Beer	Total cost
1	Vail, CO	$581.81	$40.85	$105.00	$13.07	$4.83	$745.56
2	Aspen, CO	$509.76	$41.30	$104.00	$13.33	$4.67	$673.06
3	Park City, UT	$524.08	$45.33	$85.00	$8.83	$3.81***	$667.05
4	Telluride, CO	$439.93	$35.32	$98.00	$10.25	$3.75	$587.25
5	Steamboat Springs, CO	$420.62	$36.32	$99.00	$12.98	$4.83	$573.75
6	Whistler, BC, Canada	$331.86	$38.13	$96.00	$13.92	$6.08	$485.99
7	Big Sky, MT	$348.68	$36.67	$65.33	$9.33	$4.08	$464.09
8	Mont-Tremblant, QC, Canada	$322.34	$44.99**	$75.00	$12.30	$5.30	$459.93
9	Sun Valley, ID	$310.23	$35.00	$48.00	$12.17	$3.48	$408.88
10	Mammoth Lakes, CA	$260.45	$33.00	$96.00	$11.83	$5.25	$406.53

Notes to Editors

The TripIndex Ski list comprises 20 popular ski destinations and Canada.

TripIndex Ski prices out the following items in each destination: Per night cost of a hotel (between December 2011 and March 2012), cost of a basic ski rental package, cost of a lift ticket, cost of a meal (burger and fries) and cost of an alcoholic drink (domestic beer).

Prices were collected through a variety of research methods as outlined below, and apply to travel between December 2011 and March 2012. The 'basket' of items is representative of the common items many travelers will purchase while on a ski vacation.

Hotel prices specify the average cost of a hotel found on TripAdvisor within a five-mile radius of the destination (via partner booking sites such as online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers) in each destination for the winter travel period (December 15 - March 31). *Identifies hotel prices that were taken from a 10-mile radius. In all destinations, between two and 62 hotels were included to compute the average price. On average, 29 hotels were included in the calculations for each destination.

Ski rental prices include the average price of a basic, daily ski rental, including skis, poles and boots, taken from three equipment rental shops on or near the mountain. **Identifies ski rental prices that come from only one rental shop.

Lift ticket prices identify the average price of a daily, adult lift ticket, taken from the local ski slopes for each destination during the 2011-2012 winter high-peak season.

Meal prices reflect the average price of a burger and fries, taken from three local restaurants on or near the mountain.

Beer prices include the average price of a bottle/draft domestic beer taken from three local restaurants on or near the mountain. ***Identifies beer prices from restaurants that only offer on-site brewery beer brands.

All prices shown are as quoted by source.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and Instant Personalization) with seamless links to booking tools.

TripAdvisor® Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 65 million unique monthly visitors* across 19 popular travel brands**. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and over 50 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travelers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.

TripAdvisor Media Group websites have been recognized as top travel resources in 2010 by Conde Nast Traveller, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine and Travel + Leisure.

TripAdvisor Media Group generated $486 million in revenue in 2010. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Group are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

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*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites, Worldwide, August 2011

** In addition to TripAdvisor, The TripAdvisor Media Group of websites includes:www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com,www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com,www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com,www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com,www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.