[trip style = ski]
As Whistler gears-up for the 2010 Olympics, bookings are down. Huh?
It's true. Other than the 2-week period surrounding the 2010 Olympics, the winter playground located only 1.5 hours from Vancouver and consistently ranked as the #1 ski resort in North America, has very few bookings for the 2010 season.
Reason The Olympic Aversion Effect. Prior to this season, I didn't know if I was totally on-board with this notion, however, as someone who is closely tied to the Resort's booking trends, I now see the results. Commenting on the aversion, Casey Vanden Heuvel, director of communications for Tourism Whistler, said "it's a phenomenon that happens at pretty much all Olympic destinations, where the typical consumer that is considering a visit, other than for the Games itself, avoids that destination, just with some assumptions of what that experience will be like." The truth: hotels have a lot of availability pre and post-Olympics.
2010 Whistler Blackcomb Opportunities
- Maximize your number of runs per day with little-to-no waits at the lifts
- Big sales posted at most hotels
- Smaller crowds
- Construction-free highway access
- Increased public transit
- Edge Card discounts (until jan 31)
- Last minute booking deals
- Book directly from an owner through Allura Direct. You'll likely get a discount (because owners want to rent our their places). Note: if you book during the Olympics, the owner should provide a highway permit for use during 6am - 6pm.
Facts
- Pre and post-Olympics, rates are similar or LOWER than last year's
- 90% of the mountain is open. Practical application: during the games most of Whistler and virtually all of Blackcomb will be open.
- Before 6am and after 6pm, people are free to drive the highway toward whistler without a permit