As part of an ongoing effort to team up and lure skiers to the nearby Catskills instead of allowing them schuss off to Vermont, five Hudson Valley area ski resorts have teamed up to combine on a discount CATS card. Costing $25, the card will provide a 20 percent discount for a full-day ski pass with unlimited use all season.
The ski centers at Belleayre, Holiday, Hunter, Plattekill and Windham have joined the Catskill Association for Tourism Services (CATS) to launch the CATS Card, which will be available December 1.
The ski centers are a mix of four private facilities and the publicly owned Belleayre Mountain ski area, and in the past they have competed bitterly for a smaller pool of Catskill-bound skiers while traffic on the Thruway swelled with skiers bound for slopes elsewhere. Statistics show that tens of thousands of metro New York area skiers pass right by Catskill Mountain thruway exits on their way to Vermont and other New England resort destinations.
“Working together as a region is essential if we hope to gain market share over Vermont and other destinations,” said Belleayre Mountain Superintendent Tony Lanza.
“We”™ve got some competitors that are quite well organized,” said Tim Woods, president and general manager of Windham Mountain, citing the Poconos”™ ski resorts as well as those in Vermont and New England. “This program in cooperation is just trying to remain competitive in a competitive market.”
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“Business is tough enough with the weather and the economy the way it is so we are happy to work together,” said Craig Passante, owner of Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun Park in Monticello.
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“Let”™s face it, we”™re a small fry compared to those guys; we”™re more of a small family facility,” said Passante. “Our slogan is where great skiers begin. So to be lumped together with them is an honor in itself.”
Starting Dec. 1, skiers can purchase the CATS card online at catscard.com or by calling 1-800-NYS-CATS.?Cooperation began formally last March, when representatives from Belleayre, Holiday, Hunter, Plattekill and Windham Mountain ski areas, along with leaders from Delaware, Greene, Sullivan and Ulster Counties hosted a press conference March 11 at the Ulster County Office Building announcing details of a joint plan to pay for signs promoting the push to ski locally.
The billboards reminded northbound travelers that if they were skiing in the Catskills, they would be on the slopes already. Southbound signs had the same message about being home already. Officials say the investments in signs paid off at a 10:1 ratio, helping local businesses and increasing sales tax receipts. The success of those efforts has led to this further collaboration but it is uncertain if the signs will go up again.
“It was a good idea,” said Woods of Windham. “I wish we could have got it launched a little earlier in the year, because the message is something that resonates with skiers.
We can show skiers that are accustomed to drive north that we got the goods right here in the Catskills. We”™ve got pound for pound better snowmaking, we”™ve got beautiful facilities, and we”™re only two hours from the George Washington Bridge.”
“We were told it was impossible to bring the public and private sectors together across county lines but we never accepted that.” said Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, who was instrumental in bringing about the cooperative efforts last spring. “I”™m delighted that the original effort was successful and that this new initiative  is moving forward. The ski industry is a vital part of the regional economy and we must do everything we can to continue these types of win-win scenarios.” ?Woods agrees. “I see this program and what we started last year as hopefully something that is going to continue for years to come,” he said. “Despite any issues public versus private, we need to market the region as a ski destination.”
