Tourism Whistler reported that December 2011 was the busiest December on record in terms of room nights booked, with an increase of approximately 12% compared with December 2010 and a 6% increase on the previous record held in December 2007.
The organization said that an unprecedented snowfall, combined with Tourism Whistler’s increased marketing efforts and accumulative post-Olympic consumer demand, aligned to create optimum conditions for Whistler’s tourism market.
Combined with increases in January, February and March (room nights booked to date, as well as pace of bookings) the upward swing has resulted in a revised Tourism Whistler winter forecast.
Initial research suggested that room nights for the 2011-12 winter would be up by approximately 4% over the previous winter.
However, Tourism Whistler has revised that forecast to be up by at least 10% over last winter, making this the strongest winter season since 2007-08.
“It’s fantastic that we’re seeing the benefits of our efforts,” said Barrett Fisher, Tourism Whistler’s president and CEO.
“Early results this season indicated a very positive response to our marketing initiatives – and there’s no doubt that we’ve effectively tapped into pent-up demand.”
In addition to the success of Tourism Whistler’s marketing efforts following the unprecedented exposure from the 2010 Winter Games, Fisher pointed to several other factors affecting the positive results, including gains in early bookings through tour operators, the resort’s early booking offers, interest generated by the Whistler Sabbatical Project, the resort’s 2011-12 winter marketing campaign and favourable weather conditions so far this season.
Improvements are being seen at all key destination markets; however, Fisher added a note of caution: “We have to recognize that, while this is shaping up to be an exceptional winter season, consumer behaviour continues to evolve and we need to be cognizant of that and adapt accordingly.”
Jennifer Harrison
@JHarrisonBIV