Year
starts with a bang
by Janet Urquhart
Aspen Times Staff Writer
Aspen
set a January record with $45.3 million in retail sales
during the first month of the new year, according to figures
released Tuesday by the city finance office.
Fueled
by cold weather and the Winter X Games, sales were up
17 percent from January 2003. In fact, retail activity
eclipsed the previous record for the month, set in 1998,
by 5 percent.
Tourist
accommodations were up 19.7 percent for the month, compared
to the same month a year ago, logging $15 million worth
of business. Restaurant/bar business was up 11 percent.
Anyone who shivered in the stands at Buttermilk to take
in the nighttime events at this year’s X Games knows
why utilities were up a whopping 41 percent. Oh, baby,
it was cold out there.
“I
think the thank you note to David Perry needs to be in
the mail as soon as possible,” said Paul Menter,
the city’s finance director, in reference to the
Aspen Skiing Co. executive and the Skico’s role in
bringing ESPN’s Winter X Games to Aspen.
The
month began with a huge snowstorm that stranded holiday
travelers and no doubt prolonged some visitors’ stays
and ended with Gay Ski Week. Virtually every segment of
the local economy posted gains — in some cases, huge
gains — over January 2003 tallies.
Read the complete Aspen Times Article ...
Rich Wagar
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