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Colorado Resort Company Urges Chinese Travel Industry To "Think Vail"
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September 05, 2005
There may be as many as 5 million people in China who have tried or want to try skiing -- and Vail Resorts would like its destinations to be uppermost in Chinese minds when booking a trip to the United States.
Bob Stinchcomb, Vail's Director of Wholesale Accounts and International Sales, went to Hong Kong in June to make contacts, to meet possible partners, to attend China's largest tourism trade show, and "to get the vibe" on this potentially huge market, he told The Industry Report.
At the International Tourism Expo, "we got to introduce our product," he said after returning to Vail Resort's executive headquarters in Avon, Colo. "The majority of qualified buyers were very interested in speaking to us, but they had never really thought of skiing or Colorado as a vacation option for their guests."
That reaction from tour operators and travel agencies from across mainland China and Hong Kong, was not what Stinchcomb had been expecting.
"I personally thought people would say, 'oh, Colorado, Vail'" as if they had already heard of the biggest U.S. state in terms of ski visits and its largest owner -- "but it wasn't quite like that." Nevertheless, he said, the resort company came across as "very fresh."
It was the only ski resort from either North America or Europe at the Hong Kong event and one of only a select few U.S. destinations. Others included Florida and Niagara Falls.
Stinchcomb's journey was a key element in Vail Resort's strategy to penetrate an international market that everyone in the travel industry knows is going to be huge, but is still in its infancy in terms of actual visitors.
When the NBA all-star pro basketball game was held in Denver last winter, Vail made sure that ESPN's Taiwan sports anchor visited Beaver Creek and took a lesson from a Mandarin-speaking instructor.
But China is not the only new market the American skiing behemoth is eyeing. According to Stinchcomb, Vail Resorts has identified Russia and Japan as tops on its "to do" list. "We'll invest more in Russia than China," Stinchcomb said, noting that last year, he was the only North American exhibitor at a big consumer travel event in Moscow. (This year, Western Canadian resorts will be attending as well.)
Tops on Stinchcomb's wish list would be a ski trip by Russia's highest-ranking recreational tourist, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Noting that tourism from Russia operates on a personal "who you know" basis, the Vail executive said only half-joking, "if I could get Putin over here, I'd comp his stay."
The Russians who have begun to visit in small numbers have been "very impressed" by Colorado, said Stinchcomb, especially in comparison with resorts in the Alps. He said they praised the level of service offered in Colorado, the varied dining experience and the larger lodging rooms and bathrooms.
What makes the Russians such an attractive target, he said, included the fact that for the Russian Orthodox church, Christmas day is January 7, making the first week in January a major vacation week in that country. Since it is typically a shoulder-season week in the United States, Vail Resorts and other American companies can offer Russian skiers great bargain rates.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that when he trots off to this year's Moscow consumer show, "we're not coming across as cheap; this is Vail."
Meanwhile, in the past, Japanese skiers have come to both the United States and Canada. Stinchcomb says VR is intent on growing its Japanese clientele. Japan is already a top 10 international market for Vail Resorts, he said, but Intrawest has captured an even larger share: "Every Japanese ski tourist knows Whistler," he said.
For Vail or any other U.S. resort company, China currently is on the long-range rather than immediate planning menu. Although the country has both winter slopes and one indoor summer skiing venue, it must clear at least one major hurdle before it can become a target for U.S. resorts.
The United States does not have "approved destination status" from the Chinese government, which allows local package tour operators to book groups for U.S. tours. (By contrast, Canada already is on the "approved" list.) Also, visa restrictions currently require Chinese tourists to go through an in-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate.
A spokesman for the Travel Industry of America, the nationwide trade organization, said that right now, every tourism destination must work within the parameters of U.S. law, which requires that people over the age of 14 must come in for a personal interview.
"As much as we in the travel industry wish that weren't the case, it (the process) is worldwide," Rick Webster, director of government affairs for the TIA said in Washington, DC. But he pointed out that the Nevada state tourism commission was one group partnering with the Chinese to set up a Chinese office dedicated to cope with restrictions. "It can be done," he said.
In Vail Resorts' planning, "any market that has affluent worldwide travelers" is a candidate for ski trips. For now, given the weakness of the dollar, Vail Resorts is simply putting its "foot in the door" to lure tourists from Russia, Japan and China and to find new partners among local travel agents and tour operators.
"We're not so smart that we're tapping into China because we think we'll get 10,000 new skiers in the next couple of years. If we can get into China at a very low investment and get Chinese skiers over here, that's true incremental business for us," said Stinchcomb. "If it's five families, those are five new families that are going to be skiing Vail, Breckenridge or Beaver Creek."
Back in China, one entrepreneur who in 1995 developed the first ski resort in that country, Lu Jian, has already been to Colorado -- and has seen what he told USA Today was the model for future skiing in the Chinese mountains and has begun to build it at Nanshan Ski Village outside Beijing.
"My goal," he told USA Today, "is to create another Vail."
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