Snow helps Okanagan ski hills start the season strong

It may be a pain to shovel, but the snow falling in the Okanagan is good news for skiers and those in the ski business. The holiday season is a key time for local hills and as the vacation period draws to a close Okanagan resorts are reporting business is great.

At Apex, near Penticton, they are having their best year on record both in terms of the number of skier visits and revenue.

“You can spend a million dollars on marketing but if you don’t get the snow they don’t come. You can spend five bucks on marketing if you get the snow they come,” says James Shalman general manager at Apex.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You can spend a million dollars on marketing but if you don't get the snow they don't come. You can spend five bucks on marketing if you get the snow they come," says James Shalman general manager at Apex.

“We are doing the same marketing that we’ve always done and getting the word out there. Marketing becomes an incredibly easy job when you have snowfall, you have a really easy story to tell.”

It’s a similar story at Silver Star, near Vernon.

“We’ve had a phenomenal start to the season, one of the strongest we’ve seen in recent years with cumulative snow fall over four meters,” says director of sales and marketing Erik Kalacis.

What’s good for the peaks is also good for the valleys. Tourism Vernon is reporting the number of visitors stopping in at their tourist information centre this December was double what it was last year.

Skiers and those in the business are now hoping mother nature continues to deliver the snow.