Nicholson attended a ski show in Edmonton and was joined at the Toronto Snow Show by Tourism Mount Washington chair Tobin Leopkey, who said the Ontario show generated a lot of interest for the Vancouver Island ski resort.
“I came to the realization while we were there that the Ontario market could be a really good one for us to fill beds midweek,’ said Leopkey.
“They love to ski out east, but all their hills are tiny and consist in large part of artificially made snow. We have great terrain at Mount Washington, tonnes of all natural snow and with direct flights to Comox we are really easy to get to.
“Everyone seems to write off the Island because it’s perceived as being isolated, but in reality it’s probably easier to get to than Whistler or most other resorts in BC’
Leopkey was re-elected as Chair of Tourism Mount Washington for a second term. He is committed to helping the community grow “and become a more exciting place to ski and raise my family,’ he said.
In addition to the snow shows, Tourism Mount Washington has partnered with Mount Washington Alpine Resort again on initiatives such as the Global TV snow report and a contest offering a seven-day package that offered the winners a taste of Vancouver Island, with trips to the West Coast and Comox Valley in addition to Mount Washington.
The association is again focusing on the gateways to Mount Washington through advertising on BC Ferries and in airline in-flight magazines such as SOAR (Pacific Coastal), Up! (WestJet) and Northern Routes (Central Mountain Air), Nicholson said.
While Tourism Mount Washington continues to market the Resort to the rest of BC and Canada, the organization is also moving forward on the home front.
One of the ways TMW is hoping to engage members of the resort association is with the formation of three working committees, Nicholson said.
Members will have the opportunity to sit on the marketing, web, and community events and resort enhancement committees. Having them engaged in the committees will also give Tourism Mount Washington some important feedback as to what the resort community is looking for, she added.