Aspen bets on international market
ASPEN – With the U.S. economy still jittery, the Aspen Skiing Co. is placing its bets on the international market. And Vail is quietly talking about securing more business from foreign countries, too.

Both ski towns have always done well with international skiers, more than 10 percent most years, but the weak dollar is enticing more to book trips early, a senior executive recently told a local chamber group.

“Whether we like it or not, the U.S. is for sale (for people) from Austria and Brazil – two of our biggest markets,” states John Rigney, vice president for sales and special events. In a meeting covered by The Aspen Times, he reported that the company, which has four ski areas in the Aspen area, has spent 500 days on the road in 18 countries and 49 U.S. cities.

Aspen is still recovering from the drop in skier visits in 2008-09. However, last year skier visits were up 2 percent.

Mike Kaplan, chief executive of Aspen, told members of the chamber that competition continues to sharpen, with 3,000 additional pillows at ski resorts of the West this coming season. But Aspen considers itself the “brand leader,” and will continue to promote itself as a resort of “high-quality, authentic experiences that renews the mind, body and spirit.”

In Vail, there has been talk for several years about more direct air links to international destinations. Vail always has attracted Mexico’s economic elite, and the exchange rate makes it a favorable destination for Canadians. To expedite that air travel, there is discussion of customs facilities at the local airport.

Cultivating international markets “offers a clearer path for Vail to weather another potential recession,” says the monthly newsletter of the Vail

Homeowners Association, which has a strong and active voice in community affairs.

Both Vail Resorts and Aspen Skiing have been steadily reinvesting in their ski areas. In Aspen’s case, it is putting in a $7 million high-speed lift to replace two older chairlifts, plus a $6 million restaurant remodel and then a $13 million restaurant at Snowmass.

Tourism boom a challenge for Canada
BANFF, Alberta – A new report from tourism operators in Banff National Park predicts strong growth in tourism in Canada, with a doubling of tourism by 2020. In particular, the firm foresees an increase in long-haul tourism.

“As we approach 2020, the proportion of long-haul travel is expected to increase to nearly 25 percent of all international trips,” according to Ryan Brain, a senior advisor at the Deloitte, an international consulting and auditing firm with a tourism, hospital and leisure division based in Toronto.

Banff and other Canadian resorts will face what he describes as a “value challenge,” whereas the experience remains little altered, but the cost increases. The report cites the example of a visit to Toronto, the theater, zoo, and museum, which increased from $388 a day to $531 a day over six years.

From the perspective of Banff, Mayor Karen Sorenson said surveys have shown that there is doubt among tourists about whether they’re getting value for their money. The answer, she said, is “animals and vibrancy and the whole concept of being delighted.”

The report, according to the Rocky Mountain Outlook, also made these points:
• Brand recognition, rather than location, is becoming the most important deciding factor for travelers when choosing where to go. They choose airlines, however, based on price. In the context of Banff, that poses a challenge, as it has few broadly known brands other than the Fairmont, a hotel.
• Green tourism is a continuing trend. People want to help the planet while experiencing it.
• Traditional markets will grow more slowly, while emerging markets of India, Brazil and China will thrive. China alone has the potential to generate an additional $300 million a year in tourism revenues in Canada by 2015.
• Canada has more competition from developing countries, including China itself, as well as Zimbabwe, Malawi, India and Mongolia.
• Adventure travel is a growing component – and one in which Canada is well suited to grow, given its opportunities for observing wildlife in its natural habitat, but also kayaking, snowboarding, hiking and so forth.

Telluride gets plenty of national press
TELLURIDE – It’s always interesting to see what towns writers can cite without feeling the need to identify their states. Chicago and New York, of course, and perhaps a dozen or two more.

But in the world of resorts, there are precious few. Aspen leads the list, and perhaps Vail and Jackson Hole. But a piece in the New Yorker this summer mentioned Telluride without identifying that it’s in Colorado.

Telluride got plenty of additional ink after Labor Day, when it held its annual film festival. The festival this year received many laudatory marks from national film critics. “Telluride has become the turning point, as well as the high point – 8,750 feet at base camp – of the movie year,” wrote Joe

Morgenstern, of the Wall Street Journal.

“By the end of summer I’m barely coping with the increasingly awful stuff that the studios pass off as summer entertainment … then it’s off to Colorado for a reboot, rest or whatever you want to call an intense experience that quickly restores love of movies.”

Town ponders growing deer problem
SALIDA – Where Salida once had a problem of dogs running all over town, in the last decade or two it has acquired populations of deer. If normally leery of people, they are unpredictable – and big enough to be menacing, even dangerous.

What to do? The Mountain Mail reports that City Council members at a recent meeting rummaged through any number of possibilities, including the idea of declaring open season for bow hunters. What people do on their own property is their business, said one council member, with an obvious libertarian outlook.

But the police chief didn’t like the thought of arrows flinging about neighborhoods, except perhaps on acreage large enough to accommodate a golf course. And besides, deer are legally the property of the state government, and hunting season is administered by state authorities.

One council member theorized that if dogs ran free once again, there would be fewer deer in town.

Alas, that also violates a state law, which prohibits knowingly allowing dogs to harass deer. It would probably ruffle some local sensibilities, too, as Salida has become a semi-polished mountain town.

For now, Salida is still looking for a way to ensure a little more separation between the species.
In addition, where deer herds go, mountain lions usually follow. That seems to be the story in Whitefish, where there recently have been 10 instances of mountain lions being sighted on lawns and sidewalks.

“With deer come the things that eat them,” explained Jim Williams, of the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks office. “Deer are a staple of a mountain lion. Sometimes they eat a small dog or cat, too.”

Males, which can be up to 130 pounds, kill once or twice a week, he told the Whitefish Pilot. Females, which are up to 80 pounds, sometimes kill more often, if they’re nursing.

With deer moving through the interface between forest and settled areas, lions are likely to be there, too, he said. “They are very cryptic animals. They are adept at not being seen.”

Toilet paper plagues Salida backcountry
SALIDA – What type of flower commonly seen in wilderness areas frequented by hikers produces tufts of white? Why, that’s no flower. It’s toilet paper, and there’s an abundance of it in the meadows and woods, reports Kim Hoover, writing in Salida’s Mountain Mail.

She theorizes that most of the T.P. has been left by women. Being a woman herself, she offers these suggestions: If you just tinkle, let it be, or just use a leaf, a clump of grass or a twig. Otherwise, bury it at least 6 inches deep.

“Leave the toilet paper in the bathroom, where it belongs,” she concludes in her letter.

Whitefish gets on the zip line wagon
WHITEFISH, Mont. – Zip lines are becoming quite the rage. Crested Butte launched one this summer, and recently announced plans to continue operations through the winter. Durango Mountain Resort also has a successful zip line, called the Purgatory Plunge.

Now comes news from Whitefish Mountain Resort, which already has a zip line of seven “tours,” as segments are called. The Whitefish Pilot reports an estimated 12,000 tours this year, after 9,500 last year.

Next year, the zip line will have expanded with a new segment that will be 1,200 feet long with a maximum of 300 feet off the ground.
– Allen Best