It is about 35C here in Vernon and I am happily in winter thoughts. I have the Canadian Ski Quest 2015 dates set and I am coming to terms with a concept I have which I am calling "Slow Tourism".
Slow tourism is what the majority of Canadian Ski Quest skiers currently do, particularly the seasoned ones. Most of my customers book more than one Canadian Ski Quest Camp during the ski season, and many book the entire Canadian Ski Quest calendar, for which I am very thankful. Rather than a one week Red Mountain visit, I am promoting the longer stay.
When I started Canadian Ski Quest in 1995, I offered one 5 week tour and had 9 young skiers (18-25 with one old 35 year old) sign up. The following season I offered again the five week tour, plus a one week camp as well as a Jackson Hole tour. The skiers who signed up for the shorter tours mostly came back in the following years, repeat customers. So Canadian Ski Quest went with the short camp (5-7day) schedule. What I have noticed in the years since is that more and more skiers have been able to take more holiday time and an ever greater number of Canadian Ski Quest skiers are booking multiple camps. I would like to recognize the value in this trend. This trend I am calling "slow tourism".
The pace of life is fast these days. Multitasking (lack of focusing) has become a fact in my own life and it is not a natural fit for me. I believe this is the case for many professionals around the world.
Excuse me I just took a break from writing this blog to answer and email about a 'qr' code. Back to focus......Multitasking has become a fact of life because it is now, more than ever before, possible. And because it is possible it becomes expected and it then becomes necessary if you want to keep up. I know there is a way to make the technology we have work for me and work for Canadian Ski Quest skiers. Bear with me.
The pace of holidays has also increased dramatically. Today a potential ski experience can be booked as instantly as an idea is conceived. It is a regular occurrence at Red Mountain to see guests arrive from all over North America and Europe who had little intention of being here the days before. They book their travel, lift passes, and accommodation, and sometimes Canadian Ski Quest camp when they see that we are expecting snow. The technology to do this is accessible to all, the costs are reasonable, and so it is booked and a ski experience is had.
I just took care of another email, my writing machine made a "ding" sound which prompted an immediate response.
Back to my focus: I say the experience described above is intense and shallow, that the skier on that holiday does not relax or get a chance to retreat from their work life, that this "holiday" actually builds on their home life intensity, in fact they often need a rest once they get home. A common experience for me with short stay skiers is that on day two they start asking me what the chances of their flight getting out of Castlegar are. They have no real chance to develop a meaningful relationship with Red Mountain or the Red Mountain Community, and I would wager that 5 years hence they will retain little value from the short time they have spent here.
Compare: The skiers who comes to Red Mountain and Canadian Ski Quest for the winter. My excellent customers who book into all the Canadian Ski Quest Camps (thank you). By default these skiers will definitely be around Red Mountain for the best conditions of the year (without intensely scouring the net for weather forecasts and travel deals), they develop an intimate relationship with the mountain environment, they develop meaningful relationships with others doing the same thing and with locals alike, they spend proportionally less money, they become much better skiers, but most importantly they have the opportunity to use Red Mountain to truly relax - and they take it. This is the 'slow tourism' experience.
Ironically for many of these skiers it is precisely the technology that I abhor that allows them to experience slow tourism. Sure some are retired, but others continue to run businesses and maintain professional roles though the technology we all have access to. I know that not everyone has a job where access to the slow tourism concept is possible but I thought I would do what I can as a tour operator to promote the concept.
To promote slow tourism and to say thank you to the Canadian Ski Quest regulars here it is:
Skiers who usually book all of the Canadian Ski Quest Red Mountain Camps (not including Ignition, Revelstoke or Jackson Hole, but I will discount those too) will receive a $300.00 total discount PLUS will get three add on trips FREE of charge ($400.00 value), the Whitewater day trip (Feb 6) the overnight 49 North Trip (Feb 12-13) and the Ainsworth Hot-Springs trip (Feb 20).
Treat yourself to the real Red Mountain life, book the season.
Mark
