Deals
Vail CEO Eyes Japan Resort Acquisition in Bid to Lure New Skiers
- Japan would be ‘first stop’ for new emerging skiers from Asia
- Would also help expand lucrative Australian visitor market
Skiers and snowboarders ride down a slope in Hokkaido, Japan.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Vail Resorts Inc. is seeking to add a Japanese property to its portfolio of ski resorts to lure globetrotting snowhounds from Beijing to Sydney to buy the season passes that underpin its businesses.
“We see Japan as the likely first stop from new emerging skiers," in China, India and Southeast Asia, Vail Chief Executive Officer Robert Katz said in an interview in Vancouver. “Those markets are going to be where the vast majority of all new skiers are created over the next decade."