Record number of holiday visitors recorded at resort
Mount Washington Alpine Resort has broken its all-time record for holiday-season visitors, building on the Olympic momentum the resort has enjoyed since playing host to 16 international training teams preparing for the 2010 Games.
As of Dec. 23, Mount Washington has led the world’s ski resorts in snowpack, with a 500-centimetre snow base. Before Christmas, more than three metres of snow fell over four days.
The resort also broke its personal best for visitation, up 20 per cent from last year. More than 50,000 visitors made their way to the Island resort over the holidays to enjoy the snow, the Olympic legacy, the food and the fun.
“Mount Washington is set for a stellar season, and I hope to see the benefits extend across the North Island,” said Don Sharpe, director of business operations for Mount Washington Alpine Resort. “Considering our average snowpack is 11 metres per season, the 10 metres we’ve accumulated only a few weeks into the season is truly unheard of.
“I expect very good things to come in terms of visitors and their experiences on the hill and in the surrounding community.”
The Comox Valley Economic Development Society estimates that the 2010 Winter Games brought $4.35 million in local spending to the region and created 44.4 jobs.
The Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society will soon unveil a 650-square-metre (7,000-square-foot) sport centre, equipped with coaching and fitness areas and accommodations to help a new generation of athletes achieve their Olympic potential.
Mount Washington provided land for the $2.5-million centre at no cost, the construction of which has created 50 local jobs.
The resort has also opened a new run — Legacy View — to honour staffers Tom Kennedy and Marc Lyster, who brought their trail-grooming expertise to Whistler Olympic Park over the course of the 2010 Winter Games.
Nearly 1,000 people work for the resort at its peak, with locals making up 85 per cent of staff. To manage this record-setting season, the resort brought in 20 additional staff and vehicles to remove snow and tend to three-metre-tall snowdrifts — welcome sights for a resort that acts as a beacon to mountain-lovers, Valley entrepreneurs and Olympic hopefuls.
Tourism BC has joined forces with Mount Washington Alpine Resort and B.C.’s 12 other world-class ski resorts with a marketing campaign that builds on the momentum of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The campaign offers special deals and an online contest to win a five-day ski holiday to one of B.C.’s famed resorts for one winner and seven friends. The contest is open to British Columbians and other North Americans only.
For more details, visit www.BCSkiGames.com.
Tourism contributed more than $12.7 billion to the B.C. economy in 2009 and employed nearly 129,000 people across the province.
Winter tourism is a multi-million-dollar industry. In 2009-10, there were 5.8 million ski visits to British Columbia.
— Ministry
of Tourism