U.S. skiing draws 53.1 million visits as Latin American demand and labor grow

The U.S. ski industry ended the 2025-26 season with 53.1 million skier and rider visits, even with snowfall 33% below the 10-year average. A new analysis by Manuel Herrejón Suárez says Mexico and Argentina are becoming more important to mountain economies through visitor spending and seasonal labor.

Why it matters: - The U.S. ski business is now a larger economic engine than lift tickets alone suggest. - International travel and seasonal labor are adding demand, spending and staffing capacity across mountain communities. - Latin America is becoming more visible in that winter economy, especially through Mexico’s visitors and Argentina’s snow-trained workers.

What happened: - The U.S. ski industry finished the 2025-26 season with an estimated 53.1 million skier and rider visits. - Snowfall ended 33% below the 10-year average. - The Rocky Mountain region logged 20.1 million visits, or nearly 38% of the total. - Reporting ski areas committed $569.3 million in capital expenditures. - That spending included 45 new lifts and 52 lift upgrades. - Among ski areas responding to the National Ski Areas Association survey, capital reinvestment averaged $22.24 per skier visit. - The final figures were released in August. - Economic analyst Manuel Herrejón Suárez, currently enrolled in Harvard Business School’s General Management Program, used the data to examine Latin America’s role in the U.S. mountain economy. - Herrejón Suárez said Mexico supplies winter travelers and Argentina contributes seasonal workers and snow-trained talent.

The details: - The U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office recorded 13.4 million Mexican visitors arriving by land in 2024, with average spending of $986. - Another 3.5 million Mexican visitors arrived by air in 2024, with average spending of $1,379. - Those two categories represented roughly $18 billion in total spending. - The data do not isolate ski travel, but they show the size of the market mountain destinations compete for. - Colorado Tourism Office data showed four consecutive seasons of record ski-area visits from Mexico through 2023-24. - Visit California reported that Mexican travelers made 8.4 million visits to California in 2025 and spent $5.4 billion. - Mexican visitor spending in California accounted for 53.8% of Mexican visitor spending in the United States, according to Visit California. - Under U.S. trade accounting, foreign visitor spending on lodging, food, recreation, transportation and other travel services is counted as a service export because the customer crosses the border. - The International Trade Administration said international visitors spent more than $250 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services in 2025. - Argentina enters the U.S. ski economy through labor. - Ski centers including Bariloche and Las Leñas have developed generations of workers familiar with snow operations. - The opposite seasons in the Southern Hemisphere and the United States create a natural window for temporary work in America. - The State Department’s BridgeUSA program has documented ski resorts employing Summer Work Travel participants from Argentina and other South American countries because their availability aligns with the U.S. winter. - Beaver Creek is recruiting certified ski instructors for 2026-27 at a published base range of $21 to $64.34 an hour, depending on experience and certification. - The wage range does not measure Argentine participation specifically, but it shows how technical snow skills can command value in another labor market. - Herrejón Suárez said Mexico contributes demand, while Argentina contributes winter sports knowledge developed over decades.

Between the lines: - The analysis avoids assigning a single dollar value to Mexico or Argentina because the available data do not support one. - The real story is two cross-border channels around the same resorts: Mexican visitors drive spending, and South American workers help resorts meet staffing needs. - That combination makes the ski industry look more like a broader seasonal services economy than a narrow recreation business.

What’s next: - Resorts are heading into the 2026-27 booking and hiring cycle. - More of the industry’s international demand and labor flows should become visible as hotels, restaurants, retail, transportation and ski operations prepare for winter. - The U.S. ski business is likely to keep converting international travel and seasonal mobility into local economic activity.

The bottom line: - U.S. skiing is scaling as an international winter economy, with Mexico fueling demand and Argentina supplying specialized labor.