Big White Ski Resort doesn’t have a crystal ball, but they are preparing for a Canadian-only ski season this year.
Michael J. Ballingall, senior vice-president of Big White Ski Resort Ltd. tells Castanet they have sent out a worldwide email this week to their customers who typically book year after year.
“We sent out a note to the U.K., Europe, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. We informed all those guests that (were) currently holding bookings with us, that we are taking them out of the system.”
Balliingall says it was a tough decision and cost the resort millions of dollars. Ballingall says there are some guests who have been coming to Big White for the holiday season for 20 years or more.
“We get a lot of government information and we get to talk to the experts. As much as we would like the border to open, it’s not going to happen any time soon,” Ballingall said.
The hotel beds, lift ticket reservations and shuttle busses will instead be used by locals, British Columbians and Canadians instead.
“This is the first time in ten years that a person living in B.C. or Canada, really, can book premium accommodations at Big White Ski Resort at Christmas and New Year’s.”
The high season typically gets booked up mid-May by Australians, New Zealanders and Europeans.
“We looked at our requests, and we were starting to fill up so we needed more inventory. We’re concentrating on Canada.”
Ballingall said the resort is working hard to attract Canadians to the area and is very pleased that Swoop has added direct flights from Toronto to Kelowna, and they are actively pursuing other arrangements with other airlines. “We’ll have something exciting to announce before too long.”
Instead of dwelling on the negative impacts of COVID-19, Ballingall said he’s feeling optimistic about this ski season.
“Everyone is going to have leisure time. The snowbirds are staying home. We’ve taken the skating rink out to make more parking for seniors.”
The upcoming ski season will look different, and it’s still a work in progress, but Ballingall is confident that it is still a great way to enjoy the outdoors and stay safe.
“We’re going to have our eyes open, and we hope people have patience.”
Big White typically opens in late November, weather permitting.
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