Author: Snow Menu
Published: Aug 1st, 2009
Category: News - Ski & Snowboard
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Alberta’s ski resorts start branding to lure back the Europeans

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After experiencing a drop in international tourists last winter, Alberta’s mountain resorts are banding together on an aggressive campaign to lure Europeans back to the slopes. Owners of the major Rocky Mountain ski resorts travelled to England in spring to meet with more than 40 top European tour operators, travel agents and travel wholesalers to help them design the most attractive vacation packages possible, said Crosbie Cotton, spokesman for the National Park Ski Area Association, which represents ski resorts in Banff and Jasper national parks.

Ski hills are also partnering with travel Alberta to plan a $1-million marketing campaign to show Europeans what the Canadian Rockies have to offer, said Cotton.

“The world economy is tough, (but) Europeans love the Rockies. We just have to make it easy for them to get here, create excellent packages. That is what we have been doing in partnership with the province,” he said.

Two years ago, Canada experienced a record ski season with 20.5 million visitors hitting the slopes across the country.

But only 18.4 million skiers and snowboarders visited between November 2008 and March 2009, according to preliminary figures reported by the Canadian Ski Council in July.

And Alberta mountain resorts had a 17.4 per cent decrease in patrons during the same period.

It’s not surprising to witness a decline considering last year’s ski season occurred during “some of the most challenging economic times,” said Banff and Lake Louise Tourism president and CEO Julie Canning.

Travel destinations worldwide experienced a hit in the number of international tourists last year as people spent their vacation dollars closer to home.

Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort saw 26 per cent fewer clients from the United Kingdom, said spokeswoman Candice Fulgencio.

The resort saw a boost in visits from locals, but it isn’t easy to replace European tourists who stay for a week with day-trippers from Calgary, she said.

What happens on the slopes has a significant effect on all tourism-related business in the area, said Canning.

A recent survey of visitors conducted by Banff and Lake Louise Tourism found almost 60 per cent of respondents said they came to Banff National Park in winter specifically for downhill skiing and snowboarding, she said.

Alberta mountain resort operators and tourism experts aren’t willing to wait for the markets to recover enough for international tourists to return.

“Everyone is going after the ski market, including Dubai,” Travel Alberta spokesman Don Boynton said, referring to a new indoor ski complex in the Middle East.

“But the real thing is here.”

Ski hill owners are working with Travel Alberta to create a marketing campaign and position their resorts against other companies fighting for international travellers.

While Boynton would not say how much Travel Alberta was intending to contribute to the ski resort marketing initiative, during the 2007-08 year the organization spent$7.2 million for similar Co-operative marketing projects across the province.

The ace in the hole for the coming ski season could be the 2010 Olympics, with hopes that those travelling to see the games will stop in Alberta before or after to enjoy some skiing of their own.

“The eyes of the world will be focused on Western Canada like never before, particularly for winter sport enthusiasts. That’s our opportunity . . . to generate awareness of destination and facilities we have here,” Boynton said.

http://www.discoveralberta.com/

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Alberta’s ski resorts start branding to lure back the Europeans