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« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » March 27, 2008 An IR In-Depth Report: 'Yikes, It's The Economy' Says Garrison As Mountain Travel Symposium Weighs In
The Industry Report checked in with Ralf Garrison, a partner in MTS, and director of the Mountain Travel Research program (MTRiP), who will moderate "The Future of the Mountain Travel Industry" general session Wednesday, April 9, 10:15 a.m., at the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa. Corporate sponsor of the session is Mountain News Corp., publishers of this e-letter. The forum continues Thursday. You can still register to attend forum (only) sessions at www.mtntravl.com or at the door. MTS is expecting a record turnout exceeding 1,100 mountain travel suppliers, buyers, and industry leaders for the weeklong event. Garrison says there ought to be a clue in what's going on just by the fact there will be 150 international tour operators on hand in Vail cutting deals with U.S. resorts to send their skiers and riders here. It's all because of what a few in the travel industry have referred to as the "American Peso." ...continue reading » Chondola Will Be Lynchpin In Sunday Surge
"Boyne Resorts, along with capital partner CNL Income Properties, have opened a new door for Sunday River," Dana Bullen, resort general manager told The Industry Report Thursday. "The chondola and accompanying improvements are the first step in a process that all levels of our company are excited about. It's been less than a year since we joined the Boyne Resorts family. I think the short term results speak for themselves. In the longer term, we are in the process of unveiling a vision for the resort that will guide us for years to come." Boyne's Steven Kircher says Sunday River (once the playground of Les Otten and the birthplace of the now defunct American Skiing Company) is "now on the way to reaching its full potential. Kircher says property owners and New England pass holders "have a lot to look forward to." ...continue reading » Check 'Em Or Ship 'Em? Either Way It'll Cost Us
That brings us to "extra baggage" like skis, snowboards, and bootbags. We are coming very close to the time when our guests will make that "check 'em or ship 'em" decision. It just adds more pennies to the cost of an already-pushing-it ski vacation. CNN reported last week more and more travelers are turning to luggage delivery services because of extra fees charged, the likelihood of lost, or at least delayed, luggage, security jams, and filled-to-the-brim overhead compartments. United Airlines and U.S. Air will charge $25 per second bag checked starting in May. British Air has been charging $150 per extra bag on long haul flights for over a year. The CNN report said seven bags were lost last year for every 1,000 passengers. ...continue reading » We're Helping Out In War On Terror
But, now USA Today is reporting the Transportation Security Administration is testing self-select security lanes at two major skier airport hubs in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colo. The TSA's new "diamond lane" system is modeled on mountain resort signage. They say the new process has worked to speed up the checkpoint process. Passengers simply choose a lane based on a self-assessed level of need and knowledge. ...continue reading » March 17, 2008 An IR In-Depth Report: Rumors Of Ski Area Death By Warming Exaggerated?
That led to an Associated Press story under this headline: Snowless In A Warming World, Ski Resort In French Alps Bids Adieu. The story got enormous pick-up in the world's major newspapers which, as Patrick Thorne puts it, "are hungry for any 'evidence' of global warming." Thorne is OnTheSnow.com's European Editor and a frequent contributor to The Industry Report on global issues. The AP piece followed the fortunes of Abondance as it chose not to open. They, perhaps, are regretting that decision as they dig out of this winter's healthy snow dumps in the Alps. But, here's the rub. Thorne, who has assembled a significant base of knowledge and data on mountain resorts across the globe, says the decision by Abondance was not really due to warming. ...continue reading » Liftopia Gets Funding -- Will Expand Marketing
"The mountain resort industry is spending more and more on capital improvements," Reece told The Industry Report. "It's our goal to help them efficiently market and sell the inventory they have, regardless of season." He said Liftopia helps resorts "flatten their revenue curves" by most effectively distributing products from lift tickets to lessons, rentals, and even summer activities. The new investors are no slouches when it comes to Web travel marketing. Among them is Erik Blachford, Expedia's former CEO. Both Reece and Schneiderman come out of the online travel arena where, at Hotwire.com, they helped the Web site's partners sell excess inventory. ...continue reading » Travel Slowdown Coming, But It's Brighter Ahead
The report predicts a drop from 2007's growth rate of 3.9 percent to 3 percent this year. All we have to do is hunker down, weather the story and then look for an average growth rate of 4.4 percent per annum. Guess who caused the current dip: It was us, of course. "Challenges come from the U.S. slowdown and the weak dollar, higher fuel costs, and concerns about climate change," says WTTC President Jean-Claude Baumgarten. The big winner? China. It will leapfrog Japan and Germany from fourth to second position (behind the U.S., by the way) and will increase its visitor business ten-fold by 2018. ...continue reading » Clif Bar Wants To 'Save Our Snow'
The concept is to find skiers and snowboarders on their home turf - mountain resorts and on campus - and engage in conversations about climate change. World champion rider and environmental activist Jeremy Jones has been part of the tour at some stops. The idea is "to share ideas on how small changes in a person's choice of food and transportation can help prevent global warming, and thus, protect the places we like to play. "The road trip is all about making a one-to-one connection with winter sports fans where they live and where they play," says Clif Bar's Ricardo Balazs. The van, not so incidentally, runs on vegetable oil, perhaps salvaged from last night's french fries. ...continue reading » |
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