Record snow thaws tourist market

The latest widespread winter storm in the US brought delayed and cancelled flights, and predictions of lost tourism income but some airlines and travel agents say the opposite: cold weather often heats up the travel climate.
 

For a long time, the most obvious beneficiary of heavy snow has been recognized as ski areas.
 

“Snow is piling up in record amounts in the western part of the US. That’s good news for the snow-dependent ski industry, which like most travel and tourism industries, has limped its way through the economic downturn,” said NPR.
 

But the psychology for non-skiers is also obvious.

When 20 percent of US flights are cancelled and travelers face a “miserable” time, as is the case now, chilled humans are more likely to start thinking about sunshine-saturated locations such as Florida and the Caribbean — at least in the longer run.
 

This year, snow has been so prevalent that even some normally moderate US areas have reported colder weather and snow that at one time covered 49 of the US’s 50 states. But that has in some ways been more of a lure than a detriment.
 

In Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for example, the Titanic Museum had to close on some days but the attraction still had January attendance of 41,000, which met projections.
 

Co-owner Mary Kellogg-Joslyn said bad weather actually helps psychologically.
 

"People get cabin fever by January and want to figure out what to do," she said.
 

During cold snaps, calls are incessant to the Flight Centre’s offices, said Allison Wallace, a spokesperson for the Canadian travel agency.
 

“When there’s a long stretch of cold weather, more than just a day or two, we’ll see our calls increasing about 50 per cent. And on super-chilly days they’ll double,” he said.
 

Ranya Bakhit, communications manager for Air Canada Vacations agreed. “We absolutely get huge spikes when the weather’s colder outside,” said Bakhit of the airline’s package tour offerings.
 

Bookings are up as much as 20 to 30 per cent on days when it’s particularly frigid, she added.

And many travelers aren’t choosey about where they go: they just want some sunshine.
 

“A lot of people just want to escape,” Bakhit said.
 

Airlines are also impacted by cold weather and some report increased bookings as travelers leave behind cold climates for warmer places.
 

“As a general rule, cold weather is a blessing for the sale of vacation packages,” said WestJet spokesperson Robert Palmer.
 

At Thomas Cook North America, which runs Sunquest Vacations, business is hot, said spokesperson Kerry Sharpe.
 

“We already have a handful of destinations that are very close to selling out for the month of February,” Sharpe said.
 

Among the hot spots with dwindling space are Aruba, Curacao, and Jamaica, Sharpe said.
 

For customers at Flight Centre, the most popular sunshine destination is Mexico, hands-down.
 

Another travel market that eagerly awaits cold weather and snow, of course, is the ski industry — which this year got off to a good start because of the weather not only in the west but throughout the country.
 

"We are seeing a lot more families purchase season passes this year. Snow is a natural stimulus," said Vicki Baumann, operations manager of Granite Peak Ski Area in Wausau, Wisconsin.
 

By David Wilkening