The Sun Valley Marketing Alliance was full of optimism and good news last week in its first nuts-and-bolts public strategy presentation since it received local government funding a few weeks ago.
Sun Valley-area businesses should be happy that the considered opinion of the alliance and the marketing pros with whom it consulted is that the Sun Valley resort area is not out of the game.
They should also be happy to learn that Sun Valley Co. has agreed to partner in significant ways, both financial and creative, in marketing initiatives.
Cooperation, coordination and community buy-in are critical to the success of any effort to grow the area's vacation economy, especially given the controversy that surrounded funding by the cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley last year.
The alliance and the consultants say the mindset of today's travelers make the time ripe for a comeback for the first destination winter resort in the nation.
Even better, the alliance says, the Internet has leveled the competitive playing field and that with savvy footwork, the area can deal effectively with the way people today plan and spend vacation time.
The best way to describe the nature of today's vacations is "last minute."
Resorts are dealing with a generation taking shorter vacations booked closer to the time of arrival than ever before. The trend has intensified over the past couple of years, no doubt driven by a rocky national economy.
Destination resorts are grappling with how to market, plan services and schedule staff for large numbers of guests who book vacations less than two weeks in advance.
Vacation destinations have to be nimble enough to show their stuff at the time people are making decisions. That means, they have to offer instant, compelling information and the ability to connect.
That's where the immediacy of the Internet comes in and the alliance intends to take full advantage of it.
And so will every other resort.
But the Sun Valley area has a secret marketing weapon, the alliance believes: its people and its communities.
Vacationers besieged by fast-moving technology and artificial environments are looking for places to ground themselves and connect with the "authentic, " which the Sun Valley area has in spades.
It's real, not manufactured. Our history is evident everywhere, and the area is populated by people who are passionate about living where they can hike in a wilderness in the morning and hear world-class music in the evening.
The alliance is off to a good start in forging connections with new generations of people who will fall in love with this place that's like no other.
