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SEA TO SKY MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS GENERATE $10.3 MILLION |
VANCOUVER - Mountain bike trails in the Sea to Sky region generated
$10.3 million in visitor spending this summer and there is room for further
development, according to a study conducted by the Western Canada Mountain Bike
Tourism Association (MBTA) in partnership with the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance
(CSTA). That figure jumps to $38 million when the Whistler Bike Park and Crankworx
Mountain Bike Festival are included in the analysis.
“The study at last provides us with some credible data on the economic
benefits of mountain biking,” said Jimmy Young, MBTA Director. The MBTA,
in cooperation with community partners and the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and
the Arts undertook a pilot study to measure the economic impact of mountain
biking along the Sea to Sky Corridor – which includes Whistler, Squamish
and the North Shore - between June 3 and September 17, 2006.
The study found that mountain biking draws visitors to Sea to Sky communities
and generates significant overnight stays. Overall, 20% of non-resident riders
stayed overnight in Sea to Sky communities, staying an average of 4.8 nights
and having an average party size of 2.8 people.
“The data supports the premise that if you build innovative trails combined
with scenery and services the world will beat a path to your door,” said
Rob McSkimming, VP Product Development Whistler Blackcomb.
Not surprisingly, Whistler receives the greatest benefit from mountain bike
trails in the region as the Resort Municipality of Whistler funds and maintains
a sanctioned trail system and is able to feature mountain biking in its tourism
marketing activities. A recent draft provincial policy on mountain bike trail
use on Crown land could open up further opportunities for authorized trails
and the development of mountain biking tourism products in the region and other
parts of the province.
“It’s great to see the Sea to Sky region experiencing such success
with mountain biking,” said Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Stan
Hagen. “I hope this study will help other interested B.C. communities
strengthen their own tourism development around this activity.”
The MBTA is a grass roots stakeholder based association dedicated to growing
mountain bike tourism in B.C. Stakeholders include commercial operators and
resorts offering lift-accessed mountain biking as well as community-based trail
groups and mountain bike clubs and local government. The MBTA would like to
thank the stakeholders for their support and input as well as the more than
1,200 mountain bikers that participated in the survey.
Details of the Sea to Sky Mountain Biking Economic Impact Study can be found
on the MBTA’s website at mbta.ca.
For further information please e-mail info@mbta.ca.
