Increase in Skiers... Winter Season Room Occupancy Rate at 70%
Trend of Recovery to Pre-COVID-19 Levels
Full Occupancy on Weekends and Peak Periods... Accommodation Fees Also Rising
Skiers are enjoying skiing and snowboarding at Gonjiam Resort (clockwise from the left), Hongcheon Vivaldi Park, Phoenix Pyeongchang, and Jeongseon High1 Resort. [Photo by each company]
The ski season, known as the "flower of winter sports," is in full swing. After a long tunnel of COVID-19, skiers have flocked back in large numbers for the first time in three years, making major ski resorts bustling. With accommodation facilities also enjoying a boom, the resort industry is excitedly welcoming guests by offering benefits such as free ski lessons and prize giveaways.
According to the accommodation and leisure industry on the 14th, the room occupancy rates of resort facilities that operate ski resorts are rapidly recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Vivaldi Park Ski Resort in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do, operated by Daemyung Sono Group's Sono International, attracted 176,000 visitors in December last year. This is about 75% of the number of visitors in December 2019 (244,400), before the spread of COVID-19. Compared to December 2021, when 151,400 visitors came, it grew by about 20%. Monthly sales also increased by about 40% compared to the previous year, reaching about 80% of the 2019 level.
The resort's room occupancy rate also increased by about 30% compared to the previous year and continues this trend this month. A Daemyung Sono Group official explained, "On weekends in normal years, more than 10,000 people visited the ski resort daily," adding, "After three years of COVID-19, we are recovering to this level."
The resort industry considers an average room occupancy rate of about 70%, including weekends during peak season, as a benchmark for operational performance. Major business sites are approaching or exceeding this level for this year's ski season. High1 Resort in Jeongseon, operated by Kangwon Land, recorded an average occupancy rate of 68.2% out of 1,827 rooms as of December last year. This is more than five times the 12.6% occupancy rate during the same period in 2020, when COVID-19 was at its peak.
Phoenix Pyeongchang also recorded an average room occupancy rate of 72% last month, more than double the 30% two years ago. A Phoenix official explained, "On weekends, the room occupancy rate rises to about 90%." In fact, with winter vacation and Lunar New Year holidays overlapping, weekend reservations at these ski resort facilities are fully booked or rooms are hard to find until mid-next month.
Room rates have also risen significantly. On booking channels such as online travel agencies (OTA), weekend peak season rates exceed 300,000 to 400,000 KRW per night. This is about twice the off-season rate and 30-40% higher than the same period in previous years.
An industry official said, "Due to inflation, operating costs such as facility maintenance, labor, and energy usage fees have generally increased significantly," adding, "With the pent-up demand for leisure activities restricted by COVID-19, the increase in room rates was inevitable."
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