Strength in season pass sales a rare silver lining for ski resorts post pandemic

Strong season pass sales are a bright spot during a difficult year for Western Canada's big mountain resorts as pandemic related measures caused a drop in destination skiers.

In any normal winter, Cameron Birch and his family of five would pack their bags for an all-inclusive vacation somewhere warm and sunny.

But when the pandemic kept them from booking a trip south, the Kelowna, B.C., family looked closer to home and bought season passes to Big White Ski Resort for the first time.

“Last year was a little bit of a trial. Did we know if we were going to utilize it? Not really,” said Birch, who took the plunge and spent around $2,500 on season passes for his wife and three children aged between eight and 12.

It ended up being a hit, with the family getting around 25 days on the hill, sometimes just to spend a couple of hours of the day outside. Now, Birch expects to buy a pass every year, and says many of his friends in the community will do the same.

Strength in season pass sales has been one bright spot in an otherwise difficult year for Western Canada’s big mountain resorts as travel restrictions and other pandemic-related measures caused a plunge in high-spending destination skiers.

Michael Ballingall, senior vice-president of Big White, said last winter was one of their best ever for season passes, even as individual ticket sales dropped by roughly 80 per cent.

He said many residents took a chance on the resort because it was one of the few activities that would almost definitely be available during the pandemic.

“People knew the mountain was going to open, and they put down on the early bird season pass, so they at least had something they knew they’d be able to do,” said Balingall, who said new skiers gave it a try, and lapsed skiers rediscovered an old love.