The exchange rate used to soften the sticker shock on $83 Canadian day passes at Whistler Blackcomb. But as of Monday, that lift ticket would cost $83.90 US if the resort had not decided to accept U.S. funds on par with Canadian.
Brenton Murphy of Tourism Whistler says the declining U.S. dollar is one of the primary reasons Whistler is seeing the number of Washington visitors plateau this winter.
“We are losing some traction in the Washington market right now and we are keeping our eye on that,” Murphy said.
The United States accounts for 1/3 of Whistler’s tourists and Washington is the largest American market.
Tourism Whistler does not release statistics, but Murphy said visitors from Washington have increased annually since 2001 before flattening out this winter.
“We see the issues of the dollar, passport requirements and the rising cost of fuel as barriers to travel,” Murphy said. “We are trying to get out the message of value to travelers.”
Murphy says Whistler has tried to create pre-pay bargain hotel/ski packages to keep up tourism traffic.
Tourism Whistler has worked to get most of the village to accept U.S. money as if it were equal with Canadian.
“We want to do whatever we can do to maximize the value and help offset those barriers to travel,” Murphy said.