4-1206-Niche Markets.qxp - Travel World News

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THE PROFITABLE WORLD OF NICHE MARKETS SKI FROM PAGE 11 Innsbruck, Austria – 1976 and 1964 The single most popular winter destination in Austria for Americans, in part for its easy access from Munich, one hour away, and for its seemingly unlimited choices of slopes and accommodations. Innsbruck is not a ski resort, but a cosmopolitan city with a rich history that includes a Hapsburg royal palace, a major university, museums and a zoo. The skiing is in the quieter villages surrounding the town. Igls, Tulfes, Mutters and Axamer Lizum, where the most famous Olympic slopes are situated, are connected to the city by tram and free ski bus. It is also easy for your clients to spend a day or more in the equally famous Tyrolean resorts of St. Anton and Kitzbuhel, and the lesser-known Kufstein. Another interesting daytrip side-trip is to nearby Wattens to the Swarovski World of Crystals, a combination museum and performance space of walk-through kaleidoscopes and exhibits of all things crystal, in the company’s headquarters town. Insbruck Tourism, www.insbruck.info Lillehammer, Norway – 1994 The downhill slopes and extensive cross-country terrain of Kvitfjell, Hafjell, Skeikampen and Gala are accessible on a single skipass. Nordic, or cross-country, skiing is a family affair in Norway, and many groomed trails around Lillehammer feature picnic areas for allday excursions. This is the country’s premiere winter resort area, with a combination of long-standing snowsport traditions and a long season of dependable snow. New this season is a skier-cross course at Kvitfjell, where four skiers or snowboarders at a time race one another (this event made its first Olympic appearance at Turin this year as a snowboarder-cross). Off-slope activities include a ‘romperaciade’, racing downhill on old-fashioned wooden sleds, ice climbing lessons on a frozen waterfall, and dog sledding. Lillehammer long has been a favorite of British skiers, and has widened its appeal with Americans and Canadians since the Games a decade ago. Norway had such a good time hosting the festivities that they want to do it again. Your clients will be interested to know that Oslo and Lillehammer are is bidding for an Olympic return in 2018. Norwegian Tourist Board, www.visitnorway.com RESORTS WITH OLYMPIC CONNECTIONS: NORTH AMERICA It is likely that this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, will keep interest in all things snow peaking this season for the U.S. and Canadian resorts where competitions have been held in past years. Salt Lake City – 2002 Events were at resorts within a 30-minute drive of Salt Lake City, which capitalizes on its unmatched proximity to an international airport by offering free skiing to guests on day of arrival. Most skiers head to Park City, where there are three resorts, each with a different ambiance and an immense network of lifts. Park City Mountain Resort includes one lift from the town’s Main Street. Improvements this year include an expanded terrain park for snowboarders and improved snowmaking which will reduce both water and power consumption. Deer Valley, best known for its impeccable grooming and gourmet dining, has expanded its gladed terrain, through a forested area. There is also a new chairlift accessing intermediate terrain. Privately owned Deer Valley does not permit snowboarders. The third resort in Park City is The Canyons, which did not host events, although it garnered prominence and publicity as the location from where the NBC “Today” Show broadcast its coverage. Snowbasin, just north of SLC, had been a little-known favorite of locals for more than 60 years until it burst onto the national scene as the site of the men’s and women’s downhill races, with modern high-speed lifts that skiers love. Snowbasin has the same owner as Sun Valley, with similar spacious and elegant mid-mountain log lodges decorated with Venetian glass chandeliers and bronze animal sculptures. The town of Park City is lined with restored 1880s buildings, vestiges from its heyday as a gold and silver mining capital, although, today, most of the buildings contain boutiques or restaurants. This is where the Sundance Film Festival is held every January, started by Robert Redford, whose Sundance Resort is nearby, when the celebrities take over town, although not the slopes. Competitors train for future games at Olympic Park, where amateurs can take a ski-jumping lesson or take an adrenalin-charged 60-second ride on the bobsled run. The Soldier Hollow cross-country facility also is open to the public. Ski Utah, www.skiutah.com Calgary, Alberta – 1988 Calgary gained international stature from hosting Canada’s first winter games, and is sure to pass on its experience to Vancouver, where the next event is being held in 2010. Downhill events were held in Banff, a pristine area within the Banff National Park, neighboring Lake Louise, where World Cup events continue to be held, and Mount Norquay, smallest of the three. The trio now markets itself as SkiBig3, with an interchangeable 12 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • DECEMBER 2006
THE PROFITABLE WORLD OF NICHE MARKETS lift ticket that also includes Sunshine Village. Lake Louise is Canada’s largest single ski area (Vancouver’s Whistler-Blackcomb is two separate mountains whose sprawling base area and marketing have merged), with staggering views of the glacier and glacial lake for which it is named, and surrounding mountains. Most visitors stay in the lakeside Chateau Lake Louise. Fairmont also dominates the accommodations in Banff, with its Banff Springs Hotel, another historic property. The Olympic Oval, where hockey shares the ice with figure skaters, is in Calgary, less than one hour away, a cosmopolitan city with excellent museums, restaurants and entertainmnent. Ski Big Three, www.skibig3.com Lake Placid, New York – 1980 and 1932 Surrounded by thousands of acres of Adirondak forest, Whiteface Mountain has the longest vertical in the East, with a plenty of steep and challenging Alpine runs and a gentler side with old-fashioned winding trails sheltered from the wind by thick stands of tall evergreens, also open for glade skiing. The resort averages 168 inches of snow per season, one of the deepest snowfall totals in the east, so there’s reliable coverage for skiers and snowboarders. There are ample non-slope activities, as well. The Winter Olympic Museum, showcases historic uniforms and equipment, including from the memorable 1980 “Miracle on Ice” hockey game between the USA and the Soviet Union. Visitors can take a few laps around the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and watch future Olympians train on the mile-long, 20-turn high speed track. Lake Placid has become an international luge center, and has just been awarded the 2009 World Championships. Olympic Regional Development Authority, www.orda.org Squaw Valley, California – 1960 There was a 12 foot dump of snow days before the Games, and local military troops were called in to bootpack the slopes. Much of the terrain here is wide-open bowls and slopes, with few marked trails, and the heady freedom and challenge of finding your own way down is what this skiing and snowboarding is really about. The view of Lake Tahoe, sparkling a deep cobalt blue in the sunlight, enhances the experience. Novices will find plenty of terrain at the High Camp area, named for a spectacular mid-mountain facility that includes an ice skating rink. The Resort at Squaw Creek has direct access to the slopes via its own chairlift; the similarly upscale Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe has a shuttle bus. Squaw Valley is at the north end of the lake, but the action is at South Lake Tahoe and Reno, each just about Taking time to relax on Utah’s slopes. 30 minutes away, with slot machines, gaming tables and Vegas-style revues at the casino hotels. Or, take a sunset dinner cruise aboard one of the old-fashioned paddle-wheelers that ply the lake. Squaw Valley USA, www.squaw.com ResortQuest, with more than 3,000 condo units and rental homes in Utah, Colorado, Idaho and British Columbia, has a policy new this season allowing guests to relocate accommodations to another resort if snow conditions do not meet their expectations. ResortQuest, www.resortquest.com MADURO DIVE FANTA-SEAS The Innovative Leader for Dive & Adventure Travel WANTS YOU TO PROFIT and Maintain Happy Clients • Fully Commissionable Products • Dive & Adventure Packages to 26 Countries • All Pricing is “Fair Traded” (no one has a different price) • Member of ASTA since 1975 1.800.327.6709 (305) 981-9113 E-mail: info@maduro.com www.MaduroDive.com DAN CAMPBELL DECEMBER 2006 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • 13
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