GHENT, W.Va. — Governor Patrick Morrisey joined with state tourism treasurer Chelsea Ruby and local ski officials at Winterplace Ski Resort in Raleigh County Monday to celebrate the new ski season.
He says West Virginia is a premier destination for skiers on the east coast.
“There’s no better place to celebrate the winter holiday season, and quite frankly, the ski season than right here in West Virginia,” Morrisey said Monday.
“Thanks to cold temperatures and strong snow-making efforts, all five of West Virginia’s ski resorts are now open for the season and that means that there are excellent conditions across the state,” he continued.
Three of the state’s largest ski resorts — Timberline Mountain in Tucker County, Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County and Winterplace — all opened for the season within the last week and a half.
President and general manager of Winterplace Josh Faber says this is at least a week before they usually open, and that’s a good problem to have.
“We’ve been blessed with some amazing weather, mostly cold weather, and over a foot of natural snow early in the season. That normally doesn’t happen for us,” he said.
Faber says this head start allows them to get the word out before that all-important week before Christmas.
“We wanted to build the confidence, build the snow base and make sure people knew that we were open and give families an opportunity for families to get outside during Christmas break,” Faber said. “As parents, we’re always looking for things to do with our children and get them off their tablets and their screens, and skiing and tubing is a perfect opportunity.”
Morrisey says wintertime in the Mountain State may go under the radar at times.
“Many people may not realize this, but winter tourism plays an important role in our overall tourism efforts, and this season is already shaping up to be a very good one,” he said.
Morrisey says the state is projecting more than 18.5 million visitors will come to West Virginia this winter. He said they’ll be seeing a “West Virginia Winter Wonderland,” which was on a sign attached to his podium Monday.
In recent weeks, the state department of tourism announced that West Virginia has surpassed $9.1 billion in annual tourism economic impact for the first time. Morrisey also shared that visitor spending over the past year is the most it’s ever been.
Ruby says when visitors see and experience West Virginia for themselves, they often want to come back.
“The reason that tourism in West Virginia is growing is because of the experiences people get when they come to West Virginia,” said Ruby. “We have one of the highest return visitation rates in the country, meaning that when people come to West Virginia, they fall in love with the state, and they keep coming over and over. That’s not because of any ad that we’re doing, that’s because of the experience that all of you all providing when people come to your communities.”