The North American ski industry has been hit hard by the global recession and will not likely recover for another two seasons, says the chief executive of Intrawest, owner of the 2010 Winter Olympics venue Whistler Blackcomb. Bill Jensen told a ski industry conference Tuesday that the recovery will not be V-shaped, but more “like a hockey stick” and that signs of a recovery won’t likely appear until the 2011–12 season.

There were 2,289,426 alpine skier and snowboarder visits to New Hampshire resorts last winter, decline of 3 percent for the previous winter of 2007–08, which set the state’s all-time record for skier visits. The numbers were compiled by Ski NH, a statewide association representing 37 alpine and cross country resorts and more than 200 lodging properties in New Hampshire.

Crystal Ski managing director Mathew Prior has refuted claims that ski prices will soar next season. Some operators, including specialist Erna Low, recently predicted prices would rocket by an average of 15 per cent because companies had trimmed capacity and were suffering the effects of the weak pound against the Euro.

TUI Travel, Britiain’s largest ski operator, has announced that it is cutting back on the number of chalets available for next season. Accommodation choices for skiers will be more limited next season after Britain’s largest ski operator announced that it is reducing the number of chalets it offers by almost half.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee extended one last chance to Bulgaria Monday regarding the Pirin National park. The news was reported 30 NGOs known as Bulgaria’s “For the Nature” Coalition. The park has been the subject of several checkups done by UNESCO, which led to the decision to either halt the construction of ski resorts there or no later then February 2010 include the Park in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger with all due consequences for the Bulgarian State.

New Zealand’s largest ski-field operator is not buying into the recession. A bumper start to the ski season is just icing on the mountain for NZSki, which is midway through a 10-year investment plan. The company has already spent $78 million and has no intention of slowing down, chief executive James Coddington said.

European’s small airlines said on Friday that passenger numbers dropped 10.7 per cent in the first three months of the year as the economy downturn hit business and tourist travel. The European Regions Airline Association said half of its member carriers — which do not operate long flights across Europe or outside the continent — saw fewer people fly, even airlines flying to Alpine ski slopes during high season.

Summer bookings at mountain destinations in Colorado and other Western high-country areas are down 15 percent from a year ago, echoing the ski-season slump, the Mountain Travel Research Program (MTRiP) reported Tuesday.