The TW business plan also looks at new areas for growth, including gay tourism, and the health and wellness sector, family travellers, and golf and mountain biking tourists.
Scott Carrell, of Affinity Sports, the largest independent equipment renter in Whistler, is encouraged by the plan’s inclusion of health and wellness as a growing market.
“I think it is a huge market and I think this town is about health and wellness,” said, who is also on the Tourism Whistler board.
Research by TW has shown that 40 per cent of existing visitors have high interest in visiting a spa and 26 per cent of existing visitors would be positively influenced to visit the resort if Whistler developed more spa-specific packages and promotions.
Carrell pointed to the number of leaders in their fields in the sector, including personal trainers, dental health, physiotherapy, nutrition, spa, cosmetic and ski care. And, said Carrell, Whistler offers some of the most stunning backgrounds in which to embrace these “wellness opportunities.”
“People don’t want to die,” said Carrell. “They want to live longer…. The boomers, they have this wave as they move through society and really I think we have to refresh our product and I think wellness is a big component of that.”
Even conferences could be sold with a wellness component, suggested Carrell.
“Certainly employers want their employees to be healthier so we could have a wellness program as part of their conference,” he said.
“So now we have something more to sell than just the conference centre and just the location and its is something that fits with who we are.
“How many people are obese or overweight in the U.S. — 60 per cent of the population. So how big is that opportunity.”