New Hampshire – Old Man Winter visited New Hampshire early this year, dumping a foot of snow a few weekends ago and another half a foot the following week. Many ski resorts were able to open early this year and just a few weekends ago, the state’s more than 7,000 miles of snowmobile trails opened for the season.
Lori Harnois, director of the Division of Travel and Tourism Development (DTTD), said the state is already on track for a busy season. “We are expecting about 6.5 million people to come here between now and the end of February and that would be about 5 percent higher than last year,” Harnois said. “More than spending time, these visitors will spend about $891 million, which is up by 7 percent over last year.”
The Institute for New Hampshire Studies compiled the numbers, Harnois said, which are based on several national indicators which include ski bookings, travel sentiment, weather and the previous year’s activity.
“While most of our winter visitors will be from other New England states, we expect more travelers from New York State and Eastern Canada this year,” said Harnois. “Enjoying skiing, snowmobiling, shopping and our classic New England scenic beauty top the to-do list this winter!”
Throughout the winter season, New Hampshire tourism will be sharing photos and information on its social media platforms of Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube using the hashtags #NHSnowDay and #WinterInNH.