TMR evaluates the 2016/17 winter season

TMR evaluates the 2016/17 winter season
TMR evaluates the 2016/17 winter season
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TMR released key season-to-date metrics for the winter season 2016/17 – for the period from the beginning of the winter season in November 2016 till April 23, 2017 – compared to the prior year season-to-date period. The comparison includes mountain resorts – Jasná Nízke Tatry; Vysoké Tatry – Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec, and Štrbské Pleso; and Szczyrkowski ošrodek narciarski (SON) in Poland; from leisure parks Aquapark Tatralandia; and the hotels of TMR’s portfolio in Slovakia. The evaluation does not include Silesian Amusement Park, which was closed during the winter season.

Highlights:

  • Total sales for the winter season improved year-over-year by +9.4%
  • The visit rate in Mountain Resorts, measured by the number of skier days, grew for the comparable period by +13.2%
  • In Leisure Parks the number of visitors for the given period increased year-over-year by +2.3%
  • Hotels’ occupancy improved in weighted average by +3.3 percentage points and average daily rate jumped up by +10.4%
  • Ski pass sales for the given period were up by +8.6%
  • Sales from Leisure Parks maintained the level of the prior season (+0.3%)
  • Hotels’ sales increased year-over-year by +13.2%
  • Sales from Dining were up +11.4% and from Sports Services & Stores also +11.4%

Bohuš Hlavatý, TMR‘s CEO, commented on the season’s interim results: “Compared to prior periods the weather was favorable to us this season; snow conditions were great, which got reflected in the growth of our resorts’ visit rate. The key drivers included the unique product Smart Season Pass on the Slovak market. The results clearly prove that clients registered in our loyalty program are much more satisfied with the products offered and with the affordable customized services. With these value offers tailored to their needs we are able to provide higher quality services at attractive rates. Therefore, in the next period we want to intensify our clients’ motivation to register in the GOPASS loyalty program. We evaluate our cooperation positively with all the lodging operators that utilized our service providing ‘ski passes on the pillow’, as well as the cooperation with District tourism organizations. We believe that this successful setup is a good base for the upcoming summer tourist season.” 

The Season’s Start, Christmas, and New Year
We kicked off the winter season in the Tatras on November 26, 2016 by launching skiing as the first resort operator in Slovakia – at Štrbské Pleso on the Interski trail. Thanks to a cold front, arrival of an early winter in the form of natural snowfall, a good base on the trails, intense frosts, and snowmaking we were able to fully launch the skiing season on December 3 on 9 km of trails in the mountain resort Jasná Nízke Tatry. On December 10 Tatranská Lomnica opened, as well. Christmas holidays, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day reflected a higher occupancy rate of our hotels and a demand for holiday skiing stays. TMR’s hotels were yet again fully occupied. Domestic visitors prevailed on the slopes, in the lodging facilities, and in Aquapark Tatralandia. The gothic Ice Dome at Hrebienok attracted the most attention also this year with its ice sculptures and a regular music program. With the arrival of the New Year for ski enthusiasts we opened a ski trail with the highest elevation at Lomnicke sedlo with 120 cm of natural snow. 20 days of sunshine in January together with a mixture of natural and technical snow had a positive impact on the quality and atmosphere of skiing. The new technology – the intelligent software SNOWsat largely boosted the ski trail maintenance, helped to identify critical spots, optimized the snow piling, and as a result helped to prolong the life of the trails and save energy.

Spring Break, Easter, and Spring Skiing
Very good skiing conditions with an average of 70 cm of snow cover in our resorts and a sunny weather were enjoyed mostly by families with children, who wanted to learn to ski during their week-long break or to enjoy fun attractions on the slopes or in thermal pools. Although in the second half of February the weather worsened and negatively impacted the resorts’ visitation, the spring break in the Bratislava district were again the strongest. In the spring on March 20 the ski pass price list changed. One-day ski pass prices decreased in comparing to the main season in Jasná by 7 euros and in Vysoké Tatry by 5 euros. The arrival of Easter ended the season in smaller resorts, but not at Mt. Chopok and in Vysoké Tatry. April proved to have frequent weather changes when high temperatures kept changing with a drastic cooldown and heavy snowfall. Despite the temperature swings in April skiers enjoyed the abundance of fresh snowfall.

The club of Smart Season Pass holders skied the total of 4,324,000 km (as of 23/04) in our resorts, which means they together could travel the route to Mars five times. Our most active skier from Liptovsky Mikulas skied this season during the observed period from 26/11/2016 to 23/4/2017 the total of 7,663 km during 121 days, he skied on average 63 km daily and rode by cableways 2,933 times.
On the ski slopes in Jasná and Vysoké Tatry domestic visitors accounted for 68%, the share of which grew significantly, followed by clients from Poland (14%) and the Czech Republic (8%). The winter season 2016/17 is still ongoing; as of today (27/4) the Tatra resorts have been operating 153 days, and we estimate that with favorable weather conditions skiing will go on in Vysoké Tatry and in Jasná also during the first weekend of May.

Season in Poland
The skiing season in the Polish Szczyrk started on December 3, 2016 and lasted till March 19, 2017, the total of 107 days of skiing. The visit rate improved year-over-year, which considering the outdated cableway technology and an inefficient snowmaking system we must see as a very good result. The daily number of visitors in the resort was comparable to and many times exceeded the number of visitors of Štrbské Pleso. This season, for instance, it was the first time after several years that the black FIS trail – Bieńkula was opened. Thanks to flexible operations and partly thanks to a favorable weather we consider the season a very good one. The guests of the Szczyrk mountain resort came from the area within 20-50 km. They made a decision on their skiing holiday spontaneously without lengthy planning and preferred short two-day or three-day trips. The reason why our clients chose the Szczyrk resort was a good access, good natural conditions, and their personal relationship with the resort.

TMR will release the upcoming financial results for the first half of the financial year on 30/06/2017. Sign up for the automatic email alert from TMR here.

Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. (TMR) is the leader in tourism in Central and Eastern Europe; it owns and operates attractive mountain resorts, amusement parks, restaurant facilities, sports services, shops and hotels. In the Low Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Jasná Nízke Tatry and hotels Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri Studničky, Chalets Jasná De Luxe, Hotel Srdiečko, and Hotel Rotunda. TMR is also the owner of Aquapark Tatralandia, the largest Slovak aquapark with year-round operation, which besides water entertainment includes Tropical Paradise, a special tropical indoor hall with sea water, as well as Fun Park, and accommodation in bungalows and apartments of Holiday Village Tatralandia. In the High Tatras TMR owns and operates the resort Vysoké Tatry with mountain areas of Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec, and Štrbské Pleso, which TMR co-manages. In the High Tatras TMR also owns hotels Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec, Hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso and Mountain hotel Hrebienok. TMR also owns a 9.5 % share in Melida, a.s., which leases and operates the resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. In Poland TMR owns a 97% share in the mountain resort Szczyrkowski Ośrodek Narciarski S.A. (SON), a 75% share in a company that owns and operates Silesian Amusement Park (Śląskie Wesołe Miasteczko) and a 7.3% share in an amusement-educational project via the Polish company Korona Ziemi Sp. z.o.o. TMR also owns and leases hotels Slovakia, Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky a Bungalovy to third parties. By the end of 2016 EUR 230 mil. had been invested into development and modernisation of TMR’s resorts. TMR shares are traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw.