Summer visitation in Whistler equated to the second-busiest summer season since 2019, according to Tourism Whistler.
As fall officially started Sept. 22, Pique spoke with Barrett Fisher, president and CEO of Tourism Whistler, about how the second most popular season for Whistler fared in terms of visitation.
“As we continue to move through other economic cycles, we have not returned to that pre-pandemic level," Fisher said. "But what we are seeing is that in accommodation occupancy and room nights we’re anticipating approximately one per cent above 2023."
That said, occupancy and room nights are close to four per cent below 2019 numbers for the May to September period.
Per-capita recession
While Canada has thus far avoided a recession, Fisher pointed to what economists are calling a per-capita recession as the cause.
“What that means is that as a nation, our GDP has not declined two quarters in a row, and the reason for that is because we've seen a growth in population through immigration, but when you actually look at individual spending, that has decreased,” she said.
That’s in line with what the commercial sector has expressed to Tourism Whistler.
“Restaurants and activities are not seeing the same customer expenditures," she said. "And that’s not a Whistler phenomenon, that is a national and international phenomena.”
In response, Tourism Whistler has used promotions to encourage visitors to get good value for their money.
Other countries Tourism Whistler typically targets for international visitors are experiencing economic slowdowns, with Reuters reporting Germany is showing signs of a recession. Popular Australian markets also have a weaker exchange rate, which impacts their visitation.
“And so we've got a number of economic factors that are challenging tourism on a year-round basis,” Fisher said.
Conferences, weather and regional markets
Heading into the summer season, Tourism Whistler was anticipating a softening in visitation similar to last winter. Simultaneously, the conference bookings for spring were softer, and cooler spring weather also impacted business.
Regional tourists from B.C., Alberta and Washington are more likely to take last-minute trips to Whistler when forecasts are promising, which was dampened by the weather.
However, July and August were consistent with 2023 for occupancy, and the balmy September has proved helpful for positive pickup.
Wildfires are one concern, aside from economic factors which impact all destinations in B.C., and thankfully, this year Whistler fared well in terms of smoke or proximity to fires. It’s also hard to peg exactly how the psychology of visitation factors in, as some people choose to stay away altogether when they hear about wildfires, whereas others are drawn to the area because it is cooler than destinations in Interior B.C.
The cool spring and atypical August rainfall helped quell potential wildfires in the area.
Some large-scale events like Tough Mudder and Ironman haven’t taken place in Whistler for several years, but Fisher said Tourism Whistler has filled those gaps through conferences and marketing leisure activities.
“That's actually quite positive, that we've been able to fill some of those gaps without having those large-scale events in place,” she said.
“Since the Ironman left, Tourism Whistler has proactively promoted that July period, and you start to see summer become more popular over the years, because Whistler was historically known as a winter ski destination, but as it has grown in awareness of being a summer destination, we see that July filled in beautifully. And now, June and September are filling in beautifully, and then we start to see growth in that May and October period.”
October is considered a need period as the leaves fall and snow has yet to fly in the valley, so Tourism Whistler tries to focus on leisure events to attract visitors.
One such event is Whistler Wine Walk, where every Friday night in October guests are invited to explore art galleries and savour hors d’oeuvres. Room rates for the annual event, which often sells out, are lower, and Tourism Whistler offers a $100 dining voucher when guests stick around for three nights or more.
While the numbers aren’t in quite yet for weekend versus weekday stays, Fisher said the organization is still focused on trying to balance visitation throughout the week, especially for regional markets.
Weekdays tend to be quieter, but there are still lots of events going on. Tourism Whistler tries to entice regional markets to think of coming for a midweek stay versus a weekend getaway.
While projections for Whistler’s winter are still too far away, Fisher noted the La Niña year will hopefully mean colder temperatures and lots of snow flying.
Sightseeing using Whistler Blackcomb’s (WB) lift infrastructure ended Sept. 22, but access to biking in Whistler is still on with the Fitzsimmons Express running until Oct. 14 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
WB’s opening day for 2024-25 winter operations is slated for Nov. 22.
On that note, the annual Turkey Sale is also just around the corner. The sale starts Oct. 4 and runs until Oct. 14.
