Colorado winter resorts recorded 11.85 million skier and snowboarder visits during the just-completed 2008–09 season, down 5.5 percent from last year, Colorado Ski Country USA reported Thursday. But the state’s ski resorts had an uptick in visits by Front Range residents, and Melanie Mills, Ski Country’s president and CEO, pronounced herself “very happy with where visitation is for this season.”

“The travel industry as a whole was put to the test this past year,” Mills said in a statement. “But visitation numbers show not only the enduring value of a Colorado ski vacation, but the strong commitment our resident skiing and riding community has to our state’s signature sports.”

Ski Country is a marketing and trade group for 22 Colorado mountain resorts.

Those member resorts alone recorded 6.79 million skier visits this season, down 6.9 percent from the previous year, Ski Country said.

Member resort numbers for 2008–09 were down 3.9 percent from the average of the last five years, Ski Country said.

Ski Country said that in-state resort visits were up 2.5 percent over last year, as Front Range residents took advantage of bargains and stayed closer to home to keep down vacation and recreations costs.

Ski areas operated by Broomfield-based Vail Resorts Inc. aren’t members of Ski Country. Those resorts include Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Keystone.

Vail Resorts last week said its total skier visits at all its resorts — including Heavenly in California-Nevada — were down 5.3 percent from the previous season.