Winter season looks
‘soft’ so far
Marketing targets
regional skiers
By GREG
STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Bookings
for Sun Valley and Ketchum area resorts and rental properties look
"soft" for the coming winter tourist season, but things could be
worse, area tourism gurus claim.
"Right
after Sept. 11 we saw a dramatic drop in the number of phone calls we were
seeing, but we’re starting to get back to the volume of calls we would
expect this time of year," Premier Resorts Assistant General Manger
Stuart Campbell said.
Premier
manages more than 220 properties in the northern valley.
Campbell,
like other valley tourism professionals, said Premier intends to focus
more on the regional skier market this winter. That boils down to
redirecting some of the company’s advertising budget, he said.
Sun
Valley-Ketchum Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carol Waller agreed
that bookings are down.
"The
general feel is, we’re probably, not surprisingly, a little soft,"
she said.
That
includes Christmas week, typically one of the busiest periods of the
winter season.
Sun Valley
Co. spokeman Jack Sibbach said the resort is getting a few cancellations,
though he didn’t specify any numbers.
"Most
of the reason is that people are afraid of flying and traveling," he
said.
Local
businesses, however, are responding to the slipping economy.
Sun Valley
Co. responded last week by providing a new ski pass option, called the
20-20, which offers buyers 40 days of skiing (with a number of
restrictions) for $595. That move complements the resort’s $1,750 season
passes and usual fleet of discount cards.
Ticketing
Director Hal White said the resort had sold 43 of the passes yesterday and
had received a "tremendous amount" of 20-20 telephone inquiries.
"Some
of these people have changed their mind from, say, a season discount
card," he said. "I don’t think this will replace the season
pass. We’re hitting the market we want to hit," which is skiers and
snowboarders who previously skied only a few days a winter.
The
chamber, too, is working on special promotions.
"We’ve
come up with a great promotion," Waller said, though she didn’t
disclose any details.
The
chamber-funded program will include a gift certificate campaign that will
involve local stores and restaurants. The concept is to add value to
tourists’ vacations, Waller said.
Despite
special promotions and redirected marketing efforts, Waller said trends of
the past few years have indicated that skiers are waiting longer to book
vacations.
"The
state of the industry has changed," she said. "The lead time on
booking is much shorter."
But all
Campbell wants is snow.
"If we
get a good snow year, which is critical, I think we could have, possibly,
a really good year," he said. "If we get dumped here in the next
month or two, we could fill up."