Strength of U.S. dollar has American tourists flocking to Sun Peaks

“Sun Peaks has got very strong U.S. support, a lot of it because of our Pacific Northwest location. Americans are able to come here and their dollar goes a lot farther. We’ve noticed even post-Christmas, when we’re in dialogue with the guests in the restaurant. It’s, ‘Where are you from?’ ‘I’m from Seattle, from Portland, I’m from Spokane.’ We’re seeing a lot more of that in January than I have seen in previous years,” said Robert O’Toole, the co-owner of Vertical Cafe.

‘’Well, everything has been pretty spectacular so far this year. It’s got to be definitely one of the better snow seasons we’ve had. It’s been just consistent, fresh snow regularly, pretty mild weather, so we’re not seeing any of those big cold spells. Because of that, definitely everything’s a bit nicer. We’re definitely seeing a bump up on that kind of stuff and seeing a lot of that,’’ said Jardines co-owner Derek McGowan.

Strong energy from local businesses also helps the guests of Sun Peaks feel excited about the rest of the season.

“The economy is always going to affect us and, obviously, skiing is a sport that requires a lot of investment to get into. I think that, also, people are traveling closer to home. An experience that allows you to come up to the mountains and spend the day with your family, people are trading off for maybe more international visitation,” said Kerchinsky.

After a record-breaking couple days of their season in December, the Sun Peaks team hopes to finish the rest of the season strong.

by Curtis Goodrum

Strength of U.S. dollar has American tourists flocking to Sun Peaks

Our Community