Ice skating coming to Whistler Olympic Plaza

Christopher Poon


chris@whistlerquestion.com



Starting next month, Whistler Olympic Plaza will be transformed into a winter wonderland complete with an ice rink, snow play area and perhaps even sledding.

WHISTLER OLYMPIC PLAZA OFFICIAL OPENING

SHOWCASES A RANGE OF TALENT AT A SPECTACULAR OUTDOOR PAVILION

August 9, 2011: Whistler, BC - On Saturday, August 27, 2011, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) will officially open Whistler Olympic Plaza, one of the most technically-sophisticated outdoor venues in Canada, showcasing a well-known roster of talented performers. CBC Radio's Jian Ghomeshi will host the evening as entertainers and special guests share stories of Whistler Olympic Plaza. For the first time, the stage, framed by the spectacular Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, will be set in the new pavilion with free concerts by Juno Award-winning Sam Roberts Band and Canadian alt-country star, Kathleen Edwards.

Whistler Olympic Plaza is the site where the best athletes in the world stepped up to the podium at Victory Ceremonies during the 2010 Winter Games and where the Paralympic Closing Ceremony concluded Whistler's role as Host Mountain Resort. "From the early '80s, Whistler visionaries designated this land as community space," says Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed, "and today, Whistler Olympic Plaza is consistent with the community's vision toward sustainability, including: supporting arts and culture, offering a gathering place where locals can meet visitors, building family amenities, expanding diversified tourism facilities, and more."

Weather or not...

Cool temperatures, grey skies have mixed impact on resort business

By Andrew Mitchell

There's no question that it's been colder and greyer than usual in Whistler - up until Tuesday, July 26, the month of July 2011 is the coldest the resort has experienced since 1986, according to Environment Canada weather records.

With visitors to the resort booking later than ever - days or sometimes hours ahead of arrival rather than weeks or months out as they have in the past - weather does play a role in travellers' decisions. How big a role is debatable.

Despite the cold and grey, the summer is on pace to be one of Whistler's best ever - third best at this point by a few percentage points. Crankworx was a huge draw in recent weeks, and last weekend's unexpected sun probably helped convince some of our visitors to make last minute plans.

"The resort was literally buzzing (on the weekend)," said Breton Murphy, senior manager of communications at Tourism Whistler. "Definitely it was great for the resort and for the general morale in the community because we got great weather and a surge in visitation. But the interesting thing is that when we look at May (room nights) were down slightly, June was busier than normal and up nearly 20 per cent over last year. And now we're pacing in July and August to be stronger than the same months last summer... the pace of bookings is definitely looking a few percentage points above what we saw last summer."

Property Disclosure statements: Think again!

Whistler Blackcomb's new lift ticket app

In the not-too-distant future, snowboarders and skiers won't have to queue up at the lift ticket window or deal with the flapping and ripping of paper tickets attached to jackets and pants.
Resort Technology Partners (RTP) has partnered with Whistler Blackcomb and TELUS, a Canadian telecommunications company, to create a smartphone app functionality that will allow riders to use their mobile phones as lift tickets.

The free "Whistler Blackcomb Live" app already has plenty of non-ticket features, including GPS trail maps with run tracking that lets users see their total vertical distance skied and what their maximum speed was, snow and trail conditions, access to webcams, and an integration with Twitter and Facebook.

Runners comment on beauty of Whistler Half Marathon course

June 4, 2011

Cori Alfreds
Special to The Question

With the first sunny day Whistler has seen in a while, friends, family and volunteers welcomed Jim Finlayson, winner of the inaugural Whistler Half Marathon, to the finish line this morning (Saturday, June 4).
The Victoria resident finished the 21.1 kilometre course in one hour, nine minutes and 25 seconds.

Finlayson is an avid jogger, but despite his extensive marathon track record he said he found the course beautiful yet challenging — especially the downhill sections.

"You're putting a lot more stress on the body, so you feel by the end of the hills you're running in quicksand. I found the steeper downhills the toughest," he said at the finish line in Whistler Olympic Plaza.


In the top 10 overall and the first female to cross the finish line was Care Wakely, who clocked in at 1:21:04. She said the uphill part of the course was most challenging.

Despite wanting to collapse by the last two km, Wakely said she couldn't help but notice the Whistler course's natural beauty.

She traveled from Victoria to participate in the race.

"I'm really excited to come to Whistler. I love coming here and the race was great, really well organized, and I am happy to have won," she said.

Among the more than 800 participants was first time half-marathon runner and Whistler local Karen Blaylock, who said she was just happy to have completed the course no matter how long it took her.

"It was so fun to finish it and now I won't have to do another one because I can say I have done it," she said with a laugh.

For full race results, click to http://racedaytiming.ca/whistlerhalf2011.html.

An Interview: Cameron Herold Author Of “Double Double”

Vancouver speaker, businessman and author Cameron Herold has a new book out called “Double Double, How to Double Your Revenue and Profit in 3 Years or Less“. I have had the honor of speaking at a few events with Cameron across North America over the past few years and always pick up something new. I sent Cameron a quick email asking if he would answer a few questions. Check them out below as well as an opportunity to WIN a copy of his book “Double Double“.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m likely best known in the business arena for being the Chief Operating Officer & driving force behind 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s spectacular growth from $2 Million to $105 Million in revenue in just six years (2000-2007). Now, As the founder of BackPocket COO, I mentor a select class of promising CEOs, entrepreneurs and their teams, helping them make their dreams happen. With my book Double Double & my speaking events I’ve reached an even broader audience of entrepreneurs on five continents.
I also love golfing, skiing, tennis, cooking, red wine and spending time with my kids.


Your new book “Double Double” just came out, how does it apply to Realtors?

It’s all about focus. Entrepreneurs, which Realtors are, need the systems & tools to grow their companies. There is so much noise in the business book area, and too many books that are just theory. My book Double Double was written for entrepreneurs, and written in the same way entrepreneurs tend to learn. It is loaded with easy to use systems to grow any company.


What advice do you have for todays Realtors, many of whom are working in struggling real estate markets?

It’s all about focus. Focus strategy, focused marketing, focused networking, focused efforts day-to-day, etc. Too many Realtors are trying to find the silver bullet – and their isn’t one. One of the top realtors I know has focused for the last 15 years on the same 16×16 block area, he drives every street in his area every day. He owns it. He’s focused. And I guarantee he isn’t wasteing time on social media, or marketing outside of his focus area. We can’t get more time, but we can get more focused.


How do you choose your Realtor?
I recently chose one in Whistler to purchase our chalet there in December. I went out to a few friends who owned there already and I asked them who was focused & hardest working. I found someone who has lived there for 20 years. Being a Realtor isn’t just a flash in the pan idea. Jeff Hume was focused. He showed us 18 places in one day, beating his previous showing by 10 He listened to us. He didn’t over sell on anything. He worked really hard to help us buy.



3 Responses to “An Interview: Cameron Herold Author Of “Double Double””

Robin Lear says:
4/17/2011 at 9:39 am
I saw Cameron at RE/MAX West conf. In Vancouver, and also had the pleasure of dealing with his realtor in Whistler, Camero’s message was missed by many in Vancouver as I heard some veteran realtors more offended by some of his cautionary tales and remarks. He’s very insiteful for a younger man of OUR generation. Can’t wait to get the book. Robin Lear

Bob Sheddy says:
4/17/2011 at 12:37 pm
I’m sitting at Chapters right now, and I was so intrigued that I bought the book. Thanks to Ubertor for suggesting and recommending the book. I agree with his comments that the best way to pick a Realtor is to find someone who is focused.
Bob

Dave Savage says:
4/18/2011 at 5:02 pm
Picked up a copy of Cameron’s book last week and can’t put it down. Especially like and agree about focus. Particularly like the Letters to Myself. Great book for small and large companies. Will be buying more copies and giving them out.

May 6, 2011

Eric MacKenzie
eric@whistlerquestion.com

Think you had a busy ski season? There’s a pretty good chance that Stephanie Jagger’s got you beat.

The 30-year-old Vancouver resident broke the Guinness World Record for most vertical feet skied in one year, breaking the old mark of 4,146,890 feet on Thursday afternoon (May 5) on Blackcomb Mountain.

“I was having these panic attacks about falling on the last run,” she laughed. “I took it pretty slow and (broke the record) around twelve-thirty.

“I had some people to call… and had lunch and a boozey coffee to celebrate.”

Jagger, who considers Whistler Blackcomb her home ski area, traveled the world since July and skied on five continents while racking up the distance needed to set the new record before returning home to B.C. to break the record.

Jagger said she expects her final total to come in at approximately 14,000 feet more than the previous record, which was originally set by a British man in 1994.

As of Friday, Jagger was still awaiting confirmation from Guinness that she would be proclaimed the new official record-holder. She is expected to learn one way or the other before the end of the month.

In British Columbia, Asians Make the Difference

By JOANNE BLAIN
Published: March 31, 2011
New York Times

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — With a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus outside its door and views of Olympic-caliber ski slopes from its master suite, the five-bedroom home in Whistler, British Columbia, could be a perfect fit for a well-heeled buyer.

But the house, listed at 3.5 million Canadian dollars, or $3.5 million, has languished on the market for more than a year. Other pricey properties in the ski resort area have a similar history.

There is a different story just two hours south in Vancouver, where a 5,985-square-foot, or 556-square-meter, house recently sold to a mainland Chinese buyer less than a month after it was listed, and at close to its 5.3 million dollar asking price.

Overseas buyers are playing significant roles in both real estate markets, but producing markedly different results.

In Vancouver, Asian purchasers, most from mainland China, are snapping up high-end houses and condos, keeping sales brisk and prices high. While in Whistler, sales have slowed, in part because the pool of U.S. buyers, traditionally the dominant foreign presence at the resort, has shrunk and other foreign investors have not picked up the slack.

“Whistler is having the perfect storm,” said Ross McCredie, president of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. There has been a province-wide decline in sales of recreational property, which is Whistler’s main attraction; many Americans do not want to face the bureaucracy of frequent cross-border trips, and the Canadian dollar is almost at par with the U.S. currency.

American buyers now account for 7 percent to 8 percent of residential sales in Whistler, down from a norm of 10 percent to 12 percent, said Pat Kelly, owner of Whistler Real Estate Co.

To prospective U.S. buyers, Canadian properties no longer look like the bargain they were in 2002, when the Canadian dollar was worth just 62 U.S. cents, or even just a year ago, when it was at 79 U.S. cents.

“The enthusiasm for Whistler property has declined a bit as the currency exchange rate has reversed itself,” Mr. Kelly said. The drop has been exacerbated by a perception among U.S. buyers that real estate, particularly resort property, is not a good investment right now, he added.

Cameron Muir, chief economist for the British Columbia Real Estate Association, said, “It’s going to be a little while before we see recreational real estate buyers and investors return to the kind of numbers they were at prior to the recession.”

Despite their sharp interest in the Vancouver real estate market, buyers from mainland China have not been as captivated by Whistler, perhaps because skiing has only recently started to catch on in popularity with mainland Chinese.

Instead, buyers from Pacific Rim locations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan make up the second-biggest group of foreign investors in the resort community, Mr. Kelly said, though they have not filled the void left by U.S. buyers.

“We would certainly define this as a buyers’ market right now,” Mr. Kelly said. But with interest rates near historic lows, many prospective sellers are willing and able to wait for an upturn.

That means U.S. buyers, who have seen “fire sale” prices at some resort communities in Arizona, Florida and California “come up here expecting the same thing is happening in Canada, and it’s not,” Mr. Kelly said. “That usually catches them a little off guard.”

In Vancouver, U.S. investors have always been a small part of the market, but mainland Chinese buyers have a more recent, and rapidly growing, influence, Mr. Muir said.

Mr. McCredie, of Sotheby’s, said that in the past six months, the “vast majority” of sales of Vancouver-area homes priced at 2 million dollars or more have been to foreign buyers, most from mainland China. “Foreign buyers have driven up price points here, and they have heavily influenced local buyers,” he said, adding that from a sales perspective, “if we did not have foreign buyers, we’d be in a lot of trouble.”

British Columbia gets about 55 percent of all “investor-class” immigrants to Canada, Mr. Muir said, and the majority settle in the Vancouver area. To qualify as an investor-class immigrant, an individual needs to have a minimum net worth of 1.6 million dollars and be prepared to invest 800,000 dollars in Canada.

Many make that investment — and more — in real estate, which has helped drive the price of a typical single-family house up to 1.85 million dollars on Vancouver’s west side and close to 1.1 million dollars in Richmond, a southern suburb that has a large Asian population, according to a report in March from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

In 2010, a record 375 Vancouver houses and condos sold for more than 3 million dollars, according to Multiple Listing Service records, including one single-family home that sold for 17.5 million dollars.

“From a global investment perspective, the real estate market in Canada is seen as relatively stable, not with the kind of volatility we’ve seen in the United States,” Mr. Muir said.

One high-profile project that has benefited from the strength of the Vancouver market is the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, a luxury downtown condominium development still under construction that is attached to a refurbished heritage hotel.

Since sales began in 2007, more than 60 percent of its 156 suites have sold at prices ranging from 1.3 million to 9.6 million, and interest from international buyers has been particularly brisk in recent months, sales agents say.

Don't be caught between phases

Sunday, March 13, 2011
By Ozzie Jurock, The Province

"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -American author Lloyd Alexander (1924 -2007).

Q: My husband and I want to buy a property at Whistler. We are confused between Phase 1 and 2 condos and nice-looking hotel-type units. Help?

A: Yes, it can be confusing. Phase 1 simply means: unlimited personal use (this is what you want!), and phase 2 means an assortment of limited personal uses: for instance, 28 days in winter and 28 days in the summer. (This is much less desirable).

Hotel-type units are a commercial-type investment. I have intensely disliked phase 2 and hotel units for 15 years. In the hottest real estate market of all time, you can buy Phase 2 (limited-use) condos at Whistler for 1996 prices, hotel-unit prices at the Four Seasons are off 45 per cent from 2008, and Phase 1 units and houses have doubled in value over the same period.

All prices at Whistler have come down, the Olympics having made no difference but I agree with you: Whistler prices may well be at the bottom.

Q: I read that I can make my home mortgage interest tax deductible. How do I do that?

A: It is called the "Smith manoeuvre." Type that into Google for a lot of answers. In a nutshell: You use your business or other income to pay the mortgage and borrow the money to pay your staff and other business expenses. That way, the interest on the money you borrow becomes tax-deductible over time while the mortgage on your home gets paid down.

However, be rigorous in keeping documents, bank accounts and payments separate. If you pay your company utility bills and your home hydro bill with the same Visa, you are doomed.

Ozzie Jurock is a senior real estate adviser at www.jurock.com. He can be reached by email at oz@jurock.com

Maxed Out

The locals test - take it if you dare
By G. D. Maxwell

Moving to a new place is a daunting prospect. Fitting into that place is even scarier. It's like going to a cocktail party where you don't know a single person... naked. Do you stand in the corner, admiring the host's art, perusing the bookshelves, fondling the priceless tchotchkes scattered tastefully around the room? Do you scam drink after drink from the servers gliding gracefully past, stuff your face with expensive hors d'oeuvres and ultimately either pass out in the guest room or don a lampshade and shout out, "Hey everybody, let's twist!"

Or do you work the room, introduce yourself, make small talk, discover something interesting about the person you're talking to, rely on the general good nature of other people to not completely snub you, not be completely put off when they do snub you, slip a roofie in their drink to get back at them for snubbing you, thank your host and clandestinely make off with one of her Hummel tchotchkes in revenge?

Or maybe a combination of all those things?

Fortunately, or not, there are many entrances into Whistler life. We are a young town, young both in age - present company excluded - and in spirit. Whistler's even young in actual chronological time, dating only from the early 1960s in its present incarnation. And as a bustling (bristling?) resort municipality, we run on volunteerism. Hell, even a lot of the paying jobs around here seem more like volunteering than working... especially when you open your first pay slip. In short, there are lots of ways, short of lying, one can become a Whistler local.

Ours is not the small, parochial attitude of, say, outport Newfoundland or the deep South. A favourite snub in small, southern towns is referring to outsiders as, well, outsiders. This despite the fact they may have been born there but were unfortunate enough to be born to parents who came from elsewhere, the next town over, perhaps.

This propensity to brand outsiders as the "other" is captured in one of the quaint, none-too-subtle, homespun sayings popular when speaking of first-generation interlopers with questionable roots in the community. "Jus' cuz the cat had her kittens in the oven, don't make 'em biscuits."

So I'm a bit taken aback that people think it's hard to blend into Whistler. I mean, every season we embrace a new batch of instant locals, don't we? I'm not certain asking someone, "Where you from?" is a blatant attempt to exclude them or question their localness. It's what we're supposed to do in a tourist town. It's friendly. It sparks conversation. It gives us a chance to answer their reply inquiry with, "Oh, I live here." and bask in the momentary glory of knowing they wish they were us, even as they insist we clean up their child's vomit.

This is especially true, but by no means exclusively so, if the person has a non-North American accent or we see them driving erratically, in which case we just presume they're from Washington.

But the question of whether someone's a local or not has been, for as long as I've lived here, perplexing. In my first half dozen years, I used to gauge my own localness by taking Peter Vogler's Local Test. True, every year I failed it miserably but it at least pointed me on the path to becoming a true Whistleratic.

With Peter back in town - not to mention the opportunity to only write half a column this week - we've collaborated on bringing the Local Test back to life, albeit with an update or three. So, here it is. See for yourself whether you can stand up in a crowd of old locals and proudly say, "Hey, I'm a local too!"



1. If you own a dog, one point. If it won't fit in a purse, five points. If it does, minus one point.

2. If you have a season ski pass, two points. If you paid full price, deduct two points.

3. Three points if you own your own business in Whistler. Zero points if it involves selling real estate. Five bonus points if your business includes the word 'freelance.'

4. Deduct three points if you don't own a bike. Five bonus points if you ride yours all winter long, two more if you carry skis or a snowboard on it.

5. Deduct five points if you own a BMW (sorry, Bob). Add eight if you got it for under $5,000. Two bonus points if you bought it at a local garage sale.

6. Two points if you've ever smoked pot on a chairlift. Add three more if you grew it. Deduct five points if the person sitting next to you was only 15. Add one point if it was his/her joint. If this question is too hard to follow in your current state of mind, add one bonus point.

7. Add five points if you live in employee-restricted housing. Deduct 10 points - and leave town - if you rent out a suite for more than the allowed rent.

8. Deduct nine points if you drive a pickup truck with a gun rack in the back. Five more if you can't see the gun rack because the snowmobiles block it from view. Add two points if it's stolen.

9. Add a point if you swim from the Lost Lake dock. Three more if you're nekkid.

10. Give yourself three points for every child you've had in Whistler (to a maximum of 10).

11. Deduct two points if you ski on Saturday. Add two if you're paid for it.

12. Deduct two points for every Whistler postcard you've sent this season.

13. Give yourself a point if you work for the muni. Give yourself five more if you've ever said, "I'd be happy to forego my raise to help balance the budget."

14. Give yourself a point for every hotel hot tub you've poached this season.

15. Give yourself a point for every letter to the editor you've had printed.

16. Add a point for every year you've lived in Whistler.

17. Three bonus points if you even know who the heck Peter Vogler is.





Scoring:

0-10 You probably haven't been here long enough to read this column.

11-20 You're likely a weekender, but there's a chance you're a local who's had a bad year and is driving a borrowed truck with a gun rack.

21-25 You're here for the season; enjoy it before you head back to Ontario.

26-30 You qualify as a local... but you could have been cheating.

31-? You're so local you've had it with this crazy place and moved away long ago.



If you scored 25 or better, you qualify for this special local's pass. Cut it out and see if any surviving merchant is crazy enough to give you 25% off.

A promising post-Olympic real estate market for Whistler

Despite the global media attention generated by hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics one year ago, foreign ownership of Whistler real estate — namely condos and apartments — has diminished, according to a recent report.

The report, released this month by Landcor Data Corporation, is the summary of all Whistler property titles available from the B.C. Assessment Authority database as of Jan 24, 2011.

“The closest thing we compare Whistler to is Expo,” said Rudy Nielsen, Landcor president. “We saw Expo at $12 billion (in real estate sales) and in over three years it went to $28 billion.

“This is a different situation with a worldwide recession — it’s a tough market until next year, but it’s going to turn around; we’re going to see people coming back to Whistler.”

In 2005, foreign owners held 22.54 per cent of Whistler’s $7.15 billion residential value. Today, instead of a widely anticipated increase, that figure has eased to 21.02 percent.

Making up the bulk of foreign owners are Americans, who hold 9.11 per cent of the entire Whistler residential pool — down from 10.95 per cent in 2005 — while the dollar value of their holdings has also dropped from about $986 million to about $834 million.

“What happened with the mortgage crisis in the United States is there’s no equity left in some people’s houses,” said Nielsen, “and you know, a thirty percent drop — a lot of people had to sell their place in Whistler and get out.”

Pat Kelly, owner and president of Whistler Real Estate, said in addition to the real estate crisis, which has created a lack of confidence in the real estate market, the situation with the Canadian dollar having risen dramatically has also contributed to the slowdown of foreign investment.

“The Canadian dollar has strengthened significantly, which has made it attractive for some of our foreign owners who bought a few years ago to sell,” he said. “Quite frankly, they’ve made money on the exchange rate.”

“Whistler is still predominately a regional experience from a real estate perspective,” added Kelly. “Most of the buyers are from Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, or B.C.”

One year after the Olympics, Canadians hold 80.24 per cent of the now $7.878 billion in total assessed value in Whistler. Despite the slippage of sales to foreign owners, the sales of high-end single family detached homes have remained stable.

Heather Clifford, managing broker for Remax Whistler Sea to Sky, said she has seen an upward trend in the number of Lower Mainland purchasers who are taking equity out of their Vancouver properties to buy a dream home in Whistler.

“We seemed out of reach price-wise to most of the Lower Mainland for years and years,” she said, “and it took the last seven years of real estate values in the Lower Mainland to double to meet what we are now, and now they can look at Whistler.”

Clifford has also started to see an increase in purchasers from Hong Kong, which she attributes to the Approved Destination Status granted by China to Canada in late 2009, making group travel easier.

“There are statistics that tell you that to buy a property in Whistler, you need three to five visits here before you can commit to buying ahead,” she said. “But I can tell you when I meet new people when I’m in Whistler, I always say ‘And how did you find out about Whistler?’ and in the last year, it’s all been about the Olympics.”

Agreeing with Nielsen’s positive outlook for the future, Kelly said he expects that from now on Whistler will continue to reap the benefits of the investment that was made because of the Olympics, and the awareness that was created as a result.

“There’s a saying ‘it’s slow the year before, it’s slow the year of, and it’s slow the year after,’” he said. “Now we’re nine months after the Olympics and we are starting to see more activity.”

To view the Landcor report online, go to https://www.landcor.com/market/reports/whistlerforeignowners_201102.pdf.

Team Hoopla wins Peak to Valley Race

Team Hoopla/Best of Both — comprised of team members Jeff Hume, Ryan Oughtred, Tove Pashkowski and Jayme Smithers — were the quickest group of four competitors in the annual two-day Appleton Rum Peak to Valley Race ending Saturday (Feb. 5).

The epic course — stretching from the top of Whistler Mountain to the Creekside base — was shortened slightly due to conditions on Friday but ran its full length on Saturday.

Team Hoopla was also tops in the combined age 149-and-under category with a time of 20 minutes, 15.01 seconds. Winning teams in other age categories were Toes First (150 to 174), Swiss Movement (175 to 199), Barry the Rooster (200 to 224), the Legacy Cruisers (225 to 249) and the Wild Eastern Flyers (250-plus).

Liz Thompson (4:29.08) of Barry the Rooster was the fastest female racer on Friday, while Oughtred (4:06.29) was the quickest male. On Saturday, Phil Beauregard claimed the men's fastest time (5:37.76) for Team Spirit and Swiss Movement's Janine Linder Joris was the fastest female (6:04.65).

BC's Tourism Heats Up

For B.C.’s tourism industry, 2011 is increasingly looking like the year of the dragon.

While Tourism Vancouver is predicting that travel to Vancouver will increase modestly from most markets this year — with international exposure from the 2010 Olympics a primary reason — the big news is China, which is expected to lead the way in tourism with a 22-per-cent anticipated hike in overnight visitors to the city.

Tourism BC is predicting a 15-per-cent hike in Chinese visitors to the province as a whole.

Although China’s 2011 numbers will remain much lower than traditional sources including the U.S. and the U.K., there’s tremendous growth potential from the Middle Kingdom.

The reason?

Approved destination status with China, which came into effect in June 2010, now enables Chinese visitors to travel to Canada through organized, pre-sold group tours.

“It’s certainly one of the fastest growing markets,” said Stephen Pearce, Tourism Vancouver’s vice-president of leisure travel and digital marketing.

“But the total magnitude is still quite modest. We’re looking at 125,000 to 130,000 overnight visitors from mainland China [in 2011].

“We’ll probably see it as our largest overseas market [outside of North America] by the end of the decade.”

Cam Routledge, Tourism BC’s director of marketing, overseas, agreed.

“We have a forecast of 15-per-cent growth for China on top of 20-per-cent growth we experienced [for 2010] to the end of November. And that’s pretty heady growth.”

Routledge said China ranks fourth in terms of numbers of overseas visitors to B.C. after the U.K., Australia and Japan, but that “will likely change as growth patterns continue.”

According to Tourism Vancouver, overnight visits to Vancouver from all markets will rise 3.6 per cent in 2011 compared with 2010.

Besides China, travel to the city is expected to increase seven per cent from South Korea, five per cent from India, four per cent from Japan, three per cent from Australia, two per cent from the U.S. and one per cent from the U.K.

However, travel to Vancouver is expected to ease by four per cent from Mexico and one per cent from Germany.

As well, 2011 is set to be Vancouver’s strongest convention year ever (in terms of generated hotel room nights) with 22 conventions planned this year.

Those conventions are expected to result in 143,000 delegates and an estimated 222,000 hotel room nights (up from 166,000 in 2010).

According to the Ministry of Tourism, B.C.’s $13-billion tourism industry — which employs roughly 129,000 people — saw international overnight visitors to B.C. jump 7.5 per cent in November 2010 compared with November of the previous year, bringing 175,121 visitors to the province that month.

There were also sharp increases year-over-year in other key Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

B.C.’s ski resorts have also been a draw for visitors, especially from the U.S., and that’s expected to continue this year.

“Our ski resorts are experiencing a great season so far, with record snowfall and heightened attention as a result of the 2010 Winter Games. We can expect more great things to come,” said Margaret MacDiarmid, minister of tourism, trade and investment.

Routledge agreed, noting U.S. visitors make up 19 per cent of visitors to B.C. and contribute 21 per cent of tourism revenue.

One company that anticipates more business this year — especially from emerging markets like India and Brazil — is Rocky Mountaineer, the Vancouver-based luxury train service that has moved over one million tourists on excursions through the Interior and to Whistler.

“We’re looking for double-digit growth this year,” said Ian Robertson, the company’s director of corporate communications. “Most of our business comes from Australia, the U.S., Europe and Canada.”

Robertson said that while Germany and India are the company’s two primary new markets, a growing Brazilian clientele is also a big part of Rocky Mountaineer’s plans.

“We’re starting to see the benefits of the Olympics in 2011,” added Robertson, who said both India’s and Brazil’s emerging middle and upper-middle-classes have a “huge desire to travel to Canada.”

bmorton@vancouversun.com

The Power of Positive Feedback

Jan 27, 2011 |

There are a host of reasons, however, one that stands out in my mind is that positive feedback reinforces the likelihood that certain wanted behaviors will be repeated. It is also validation to someone that they are appreciated and that they belong. Providing positive feedback relates to two of Maslow’s five hierarchy of needs, Esteem and Self-Actualization.


One of the main reasons we provide positive feedback is to increase the likelihood of that same behavior to be repeated. As a very simple example, if an employee is always on time and a bit early for their workday, a simple “I appreciate you always being on time and here a few minutes early” goes a very long way in solidifying repeated behavior. As human beings we are consciously and sub-consciously always looking to be validated or accepted. To illustrate the power of positive feedback, a simple 10 second statement to an employee can often last for an entire lifetime – no kidding. (10 seconds of your time)

How To’s of Providing Positive Feedback

Positive feedback should follow immediately after the behavior which prompted the requirement for positive feedback. The longer the feedback from the time of the event the less powerful it becomes. If not immediate, the thinking with employees is that if it was that great, why my manager waited so long to tell me. Below is a brief checklist of the how to’s of providing positive feedback.

1. Do it immediately
Feedback goes stale when left unsaid too long, so give positive feedback as close to the event as possible.
2. In Public and In Private
Praise in public, criticize in private, that’s the general rule. But before you go praising in a public place think about what they would prefer. Some people get so emotional or embarrassed by public praise that it defeats your good intentions of doing it publicly. Do what’s right for the person.
3. Practice Makes Perfect
It’s easy to overlook good work or extra effort, so make it a habit to praise regularly.
4. Does the Reward Fit?
Keep the balloons and streamers for special occasions. Going over the top with rewards can be mis-interpreted as “buying” favours. Judge the amount of effort and reward appropriately.
5. No Favorites!
Avoid creating “favorites” by doing quick mental tallies of whom you’ve praised recently.
6. Be Clear and Mean It
The best positive feedback is sincere and specific. Tell the person exactly why you are praising them;
“Susan, that extra analysis was really appreciated by the project team and allowed them to make a decision immediately”.
Susan now knows exactly what to do next time to get praise.
7. Catch People Doing Things Right
The more you catch people doing things right, the more right things they will do! Encourage positive actions by letting people know when they do things well. Start today, and in only two-three weeks time, giving positive feedback will be a life-long habit.




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Whistler top Canadian adventure destination: Lonely Planet

International visitors rise for the sixth straight month


Lonely Planet, one of the world's top travel guides has named Whistler its top adventure destination in Canada.

The accolade comes in the guide's online top-ten destination tips and articles. It outlines the vast skiing terrain for those looking for advice as they book vacations to Canada.

Also making the top ten list was Whislter's ziplining.

"...Ziplining turns out to be one of the best ways to encounter the Whistler wilderness," states the guide.

Meanwhile new figures from Statistics Canada show increases of more than 10 per cent in overnight visitors from the U.S. and China, key tourism markets for British Columbia.

That's contributed to the sixth straight month of gains in international countries, the Statscan numbers show.

International overnight visitors to B.C. jumped 7.5 per cent in November 2010 compared with November of the previous year, bringing 175,121 visitors to the province.

Canada, by comparison, saw a 6.3 per cent increase. Overnight visitors to B.C. from the U.S. rose 10.9 per cent, while overnight visitors from China jumped 10.4 per cent.

"Clearly, our targeted marketing campaigns are working, and people from around the world are realizing that B.C. is second to none as a place to visit, live, work and invest," said Margaret MacDiarmid, B.C.'s Minister of Tourism, Trade and Investment in a release.

Key markets in the Asia-Pacific region also posted gains in November, with overnight arrivals from South Korea up 21.9 per cent, India up 18.4 per cent, and South East Asia up 19.5 per cent.

Tourism was estimated to be worth $12.7 billion in 2009. It provides jobs for 129,000 employees in the province.

The numbers reported by Statistics Canada are based on international visitors who cross through Canada Customs into British Columbia. Actual numbers of visitors to B.C. are higher, as domestic visitors are not included. As well, more international visitors pass through customs outside of B.C. and then travel to the province.

TOURISM BY THE NUMBERS - STATS CANADA
- Total international overnight arrivals to B.C. rose 7.5 per cent in November, compared with November 2009, while Canada reported growth of 6.3 per cent.
- From Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2010, international visitor arrivals to B.C. grew 3.9 per cent to 4,006,896 visitors. Canada reported 2.3 per cent growth during this time.
- Overnight customs entries from the U.S. rose 10.9 per cent in November; compared with 2009, with Canada reporting a 6.7 per cent increase in its U.S. visitors.
- Overnight visitor arrivals from Asia-Pacific countries rose 2.5 per cent in November, compared with November 2009, while entries from Jan.1 to Nov. 30, 2010, were up 11.2 per cent, representing 750,718 visitors.
- Arrivals from China rose 10.4 per cent in November, compared with November 2009.
- Visitors from New Zealand were up 22.2 per cent, compared with November 2009.

Buying a Home for Your Child - Yahoo! Real Estate

It used to be big deal if Dad bought you a car when you were old enough to drive – but now some parents are buying homes for their kids. It's a great investment and saves them from paying rent, whether they are attending college or university or are striking out into the working world.

A recent poll by TD Canada Trust says that 10 per cent of Canadians would consider buying a condo for their adult children. For the parents it offers some peace of mind, since the investment may help their children into better housing than they could afford if paying rent. For the kids, it's a way to learn about the pros and cons of looking after their own homes, and perhaps even get some experience at becoming a landlord.

The trend is growing in cities across the country. In Montreal, developers have offered incentives specifically geared to families who are buying a condo for a young adult. In Toronto and Vancouver, where Asian investors are buying up many of the new condos, it's not uncommon for a family to buy a unit for their child to live in while attending school. Sometimes they have long-range plans to move to Canada themselves, so they buy now and have their child live in the unit, or rent it out.

For students heading to a new city to attend college or university, buying a house or condo eliminates the need to search for sometimes pricey student accommodation. Some of these students live in the homes and rent out a basement apartment or have roommates to help offset costs.

As with any real estate investment, there are a number of financial, tax planning and social aspects to consider before buying a home for your child. The usual rules of real estate apply: location, location, location. Buyers must ensure that the property will be in demand for renters, because the child may not want to live there for long. If the unit is sold in a couple of years, will the buyer be able to recoup his investment?

Buyers must ensure that a property being purchased with a rental suite complies with local zoning bylaws, fire codes and electrical safety standards, and that the proper insurance is in place. Some municipalities have tried to clamp down on student housing in new developments because of complaints from the neighbours.

If the adult child is going to rent out part of the house or have roommates, even if they are moving in with friends, it's important that the living arrangements are spelled out in advance in a businesslike manner. Each renter should sign a written tenancy agreement that covers how much rent will be paid, what additional costs (such as utilities) will be paid by the renter, what facilities will be shared, and house rules such as whether pets are allowed, smoking policies and provisions for parking and laundry facilities if applicable.

In some provinces, if the kitchen and bathrooms are being shared, the provincial tenancies act may not apply. That gives the landlord the ability to evict a renter without going through a formal eviction process if they find out they can't get along with the roommate.

Kathy Monro and Caryn Watt of PricewatershouseCoopers recently wrote a paper ( Wealth and Tax Matters, Winter 2011 ) about the tax implications of buying a home for your adult child, setting out four options.

The first is purchasing a condo in your own name. The downside to this is that when the condo is sold, it will be subject to capital gains tax because it isn't your principal residence. Under Canada's tax law, you and your spouse (including common-law partners) and any unmarried children under the age of 18 are entitled to designate just one property as your principal residence for each year.

The advantage is that it may protect your investment if your adult child is married or gets married and then gets a divorce. In provinces like Ontario, the matrimonial home is included in calculating "equalization payments" even if the home was a gift or inheritance and even if it was owned by one of the spouses before the marriage. So, the other spouse is entitled to an equal share of the value of the condo. If the condo is in your name, it would not be subject to this rule.

Munro and Watt say the second option is giving a cash gift to your child to cover the cost of the condo. The child holds the condo in their own name, and as a principal residence it does not incur capital gains taxes when sold. It does not protect the condo from equalization in the event of a divorce.

Option three is lending the money to the child by way of a mortgage. The mortgage should be interest-free to avoid taxable income. "Because the child owns the condo subject to a mortgage, we understand that this plan could provide better protection to you and your child under family law legislation should the child divorce while owning the condo," say Munro and Watt.

The fourth option is setting up a family trust, which would then own the condo. "Family trusts are popular vehicles for sharing wealth with family members because they offer the trustees the flexibility to accommodate the changing and competing needs of the beneficiaries," say the authors.

Carney keeps rate at 1%

The Bank of Canada elected to hold its benchmark overnight lending rate steady at one per cent in its latest policy decision on Tuesday.

"The global economic recovery is proceeding at a somewhat faster pace than the bank had anticipated, although risks remain elevated," the bank said in a statement.

"Any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus would need to be carefully considered."

The statement gave no clear indication as to when the bank might start raising rates again.

After cutting the rate to a record low of 0.25 per cent during the recession, the central bank raised the rate in June, July and September before standing pat in its three policy decisions since then.

Economists were expecting the bank to not change the rate — especially after the federal government moved to cool the housing market further on Monday by tinkering with mortgage rules.

However, the C.D. Howe policy council recommended last week that the time had come to start edging the rate toward meeting a target of 2.5 per cent by the end of the year.

BMO economist Michael Gregory predicted in a commentary released after the announcement that the bank would resume increasing rates in May.

With the Canadian dollar already strong, he said the bank "is going to want to see a persistent" improvement in the U.S. economy to avoid any American downturn that would push the loonie higher and make Canadian exports less competitive.

On the other hand, Pascal Gauthier, senior economist with TD Economics, predicted the bank is more likely to hold off until July before increasing rates while it waits for the U.S. Federal Reserve to finish its massive program of bond buying aimed at stimulating the American economy.

The bank usually signals a move in rates ahead of time. Its next statement in March "will be crucial to help determine whether markets should reasonably expect that to be as early as the spring or in the summer," said Gauthier.

High dollar a worry
The bank signalled it is clearly worried about the Canadian dollar, which is trading over parity with the U.S. currency, and the low productivity of Canadian businesses.

In its last projection, the central bank expected the loonie to remain around the 98 cents US level. But the dollar has been trading above parity with its U.S. counterpart for all of 2011 so far. The loonie was trading 0.54 of a US cent lower, to 100.78 cents, on Tuesday.

The loonie slid on the interest rate news even as the U.S. dollar weakened against other currencies including the euro.

"The cumulative effects of the persistent strength in the Canadian dollar and Canada's poor relative productivity performance are restraining this recovery in net exports and contributing to a widening of Canada's current account deficit to a 20-year high," the bank's statement said.

The bank projects the economy will expand by 2.4 per cent in 2011 and 2.8 per cent in 2012 — a slightly firmer profile than had been forecast in October.

Core inflation is projected to edge gradually up to two per cent by the end of 2012, as excess supply in the economy is slowly absorbed.

The bank did not change its target date for when it expects the economy to return to full capacity from the end of 2012.

As well, the bank continued to stress that risks to the global recovery remain "elevated" because of large government debt buildups, particularly in Europe, and the poor financial positions of international banks.

The bank will issue a new comprehensive outlook on the economy on Wednesday, when its intentions over interest rates might become clearer.

Solid weekend for Whistler's Janyk siblings

January 10, 2011

Eric MacKenzie
eric@whistlerquestion.com

Britt Janyk has started to produce some consistent results on the alpine World Cup circuit in the past few events, while younger brother Michael had a return to form on the weekend as well.

Britt had a pair of top-15 finishes Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 8 and 9) at Zauchensee, Austria that came on the heels of a 13th-place showing in her last race before Christmas, while Michael secured his best finish of the season when placing fifth in slalom at Adelboden, Switzerland on Sunday.

Britt raced to 15th spot in Saturday's downhill and trumped that Sunday when reaching ninth place in super-G.

Wearing bib No. 2, Britt finished the super-G run in one minute, 14.26 seconds to be seven-tenths off the podium and place in the top 10 of a World Cup race for the first time in exactly one year.



Marie-Michele Gagnon was 30th and Georgia Simmerling placed 35th to round out the Canadian showing.

Britt Janyk had the top Canadian finish in Saturday's downhill as well, finishing slightly more than two seconds behind winner Lindsey Vonn.

Michael Janyk's fifth place highlighted a strong day for the Canadian men's technical team, as Brad Spence and Trevor White both cracked the top 20 as well.

The 28 year old was fifth after the first run and finished in that position despite adding more than a second to his second run. It's the first time Janyk has completed both runs of a World Cup race this season.

Janyk, who matched his best result from last season when he had three fifth-place finishes, rebounded from a tough outing at the Zagreb, Croatia slalom on Thursday (Jan. 6), when he missed qualifying for the second run by less than a tenth of a second and placed 33rd as the top Canuck.

No Canadian men qualified for the second run of Saturday's giant slalom at Adelboden, including Janyk, while fellow Whistlerite Robbie Dixon sat out the race with a suspected concussion.

Look for a more complete wrap of the Janyks' weekend performances in the Jan. 13 issue of The Question .