The Loonie worth more than the Green Back..

[jmace]

Well almost..closed at 98.64$ today

 

Couple more days and I'm coming shopping, should be par any day now

 

Loonie

 

 

 

[skykilo]

$98.64: Now that would be something!

 

$ -> ¢

[JayB]

It'd be interesting to see how, under current arrangements, this development will impact Canada overall.

 

Pros: cheaper imports the USA (whether imported by consumers themselves or the various wholesalers, etc that do so on their behalf)and less expensive travel in the USA.

 

Cons: exports become proportionately less competitive in the US market, traveling/shopping in Canada become less affordable/attractive to Americans.

 

Two sides to the coin, but I'm not sure that rapid increases in the exhange rate are a net-positive for Canada.

[jmace]

woops ya cents

[cj001f]

I'm not sure that rapid increases in the exhange rate are a net-positive for Canada.

 

I'll be curious to see what American visitor numbers are at Whistler this year. They are currently among the most expensive resorts in N. America for a day ticket ($82 US at todays rate) and that price is only going to go up.

[jmace]

Probably low..but considering Europe has had lame seasons for a few years now and the euro is worth so much I doubt it will matter that there are less Americans.

 

 

[JayB]

During our trip last year we used the two-for-one coupons that you got from filling up at Shell stations in Washington to get tickets for half of the stated price.

 

Not sure how the economics of that work out, or how much of their visitation is from international visitors who pay so much in lodging/airfare/food that the price of lift tickets inconsequential.

 

Seems like most destination resorts offer some kind of a deal to folks within driving range of the lifts to keep them from revolting, while getting every penny they can out of the folks who have to fly there.

 

I still think that $82 for a day at Whistler is a bargain compared to prices in $65-$80 a-day range for POS eastern resorts.

[jordop]

Yeah those 2 for 1 jobs are awesome for Canucks too - if they offer em again this year I'll set up a program to buy em off nayone south of the line . . .

[jordop]

Probably low..but considering Europe has had lame seasons for a few years now and the euro is worth so much I doubt it will matter that there are less Americans.

 

Maybe not again this year: already skiing in some parts over there!

http://www.wildsnow.com/index.php?paged=3

 

[rob]

Cons: exports become proportionately less competitive in the US market, traveling/shopping in Canada become less affordable/attractive to Americans.

 

Does this mean the end of BC Bud?

[cj001f]

Not sure how the economics of that work out, or how much of their visitation is from international visitors who pay so much in lodging/airfare/food that the price of lift tickets inconsequential.

 

A retail study for the village done in '05 stated:

The visitor demographics have changed and shifted towards a more regional consumer base, with a different spending profile

curious to see how they define "regional"

 

I still think Whistler at $83 is a POS ripoff compared to Chamonix or St Anton at $55, much less Stubai at $40 even in "lame" seasons. The cost of staying in those communities is similar to Whistler as well.

[murraysovereign]

For the average traveller, it's already passed par. 98.64 is the wholesale rate, but that's not the rate you receive when you exchange your money. Remember that the banks or exchange houses charge a premium of 1.5 - 2% for changing your money. So if you go to the bank today, and exchange greenbacks into loonies, you're going to get CDN$.9975 per US$ (according to Scotiabank on-line's current exchange rates), and the greenback is continuing to weaken, so you can expect that rate to keep dropping.

 

JayB is correct that a rapid appreciation in any currency will cause some dislocation. Even on a small scale like my shop, it makes it difficult to plan inventory buys for next summer, it makes it difficult to maintain margin on imported retail goods, and it deters US tourists from visiting, staying, and spending. But it also reduces overall consumer prices, which may result in increased spending by locals.

 

On the larger scale, it makes our exports more expensive in the US, so the automotive sector in Ontario is feeling this very keenly. And the BC forestry sector is hurting, and the tourism industry as well.

 

But, those effects are largely limited to our US trading relationship. The Loonie has been gaining against the Greenback, but so have the Euro and most other G8 currencies, so our exports to / tourism from those countries will be less affected, and may even go up. And much of our export base is commodities, which have been enjoying strong price increases recently, and which are less price-sensitive, such as oil, so those shouldn't be greatly impacted.

 

So psychologically people like to see their currency gaining strength, but in economic terms they may want to be careful what they wish for. A loonie at or above par is going to cause very real pain for a lot of people, at least in the short term until the economy can adjust to the new dynamic.

[murraysovereign]

curious to see how they define "regional"

 

"Regional" is also referred to as "rubber-tire" traffic. In other words, people who live close enough to drive rather than flying. So regional would loosely include BC, Washington, and maybe a good portion of Oregon. "Local" refers to people who live close enough to drive up for the day and then return home, so Lower Mainland for sure, and possibly the very northern communities of Puget Sound.

[JayB]

Not sure how the economics of that work out, or how much of their visitation is from international visitors who pay so much in lodging/airfare/food that the price of lift tickets inconsequential.

 

A retail study for the village done in '05 stated:

The visitor demographics have changed and shifted towards a more regional consumer base, with a different spending profile

curious to see how they define "regional"

 

I still think Whistler at $83 is a POS ripoff compared to Chamonix or St Anton at $55, much less Stubai at $40 even in "lame" seasons. The cost of staying in those communities is similar to Whistler as well.

 

Strange that so many Brits and Euros spring for the extra-airfare and endure the extra flying time to come to Whistler instead of skiing in Euroland.

 

One factor that pretty much every Euro/Brit that I've chatted with on the lifts cites (in addition to the scenery, snowpack, terrain, etc) the orderliness of the lift lines, and the relative lack thereof as key attractions of Whistler/North America vs Euroland. What has your experience been?

 

If you live in the PNW, there's really no reason to travel anywhere else to ski IMO. There may be other places that have a better combination of vert, snowpack, and terrain inbounds, BC stuff that's just as good, and a season that's just as long...but I can't see any marginal gain in any of these warranting a flight. If you live in the East, however, it's worth donating plasma if that's what it takes to escape.

 

 

[JayB]

 

So psychologically people like to see their currency gaining strength, but in economic terms they may want to be careful what they wish for. A loonie at or above par is going to cause very real pain for a lot of people, at least in the short term until the economy can adjust to the new dynamic.

 

Ditto for the dollar. I think that the language used to describe relative changes in the value of currencies ("Strong" vs "Weak") actually has an inordinate effect on how people perceive these changes.

 

 

[cj001f]

One factor that pretty much every Euro/Brit that I've chatted with on the lifts cites (in addition to the scenery, snowpack, terrain, etc) the orderliness of the lift lines, and the relative lack thereof as key attractions of Whistler/North America vs Euroland. What has your experience been?

 

Weekend Whistler lifts are worse than anything I encountered in yurp except the Grand Montets on a powder morning. The one piece of consistant praise I heard for N. America was for the snow. A brit I know who seasoned in Whistler 04-05 after several years in france couldn't understand why everyone was complaining about the lack of snow that year, it was more than he'd ever seen in France

 

For lift served slackcountry or partially lift served slackcountry europe > north america imo. there are many places of whistler caliber and others far better. The ability to pop into a hut pretty much everywhere makes for different, more accessible, multi-day winter touring. The other big change is the difference in the ski scene - skiing and even skitouring are family activities not constrained to singles and dinks 20-40

 

I like to travel to other countries. A weak dollar sucks

[jmace]

Strange that so many Brits and Euros spring for the extra-airfare and endure the extra flying time to come to Whistler instead of skiing in Euroland.

 

 

There hasnt been good snow below 2000m in a few years

[cj001f]

Strange that so many Brits and Euros spring for the extra-airfare and endure the extra flying time to come to Whistler instead of skiing in Euroland.

 

 

There hasnt been good snow below 2000m in a few years

 

whered you get that?

[cj001f]

Strange that so many Brits and Euros spring for the extra-airfare and endure the extra flying time to come to Whistler instead of skiing in Euroland.

 

 

There hasnt been good snow below 2000m in a few years

 

whered you get that?

[JayB]

One factor that pretty much every Euro/Brit that I've chatted with on the lifts cites (in addition to the scenery, snowpack, terrain, etc) the orderliness of the lift lines, and the relative lack thereof as key attractions of Whistler/North America vs Euroland. What has your experience been?

 

Weekend Whistler lifts are worse than anything I encountered in yurp except the Grand Montets on a powder morning. The one piece of consistant praise I heard for N. America was for the snow. A brit I know who seasoned in Whistler 04-05 after several years in france couldn't understand why everyone was complaining about the lack of snow that year, it was more than he'd ever seen in France

 

For lift served slackcountry or partially lift served slackcountry europe > north america imo. there are many places of whistler caliber and others far better. The ability to pop into a hut pretty much everywhere makes for different, more accessible, multi-day winter touring. The other big change is the difference in the ski scene - skiing and even skitouring are family activities not constrained to singles and dinks 20-40

 

I like to travel to other countries. A weak dollar sucks

 

It wasn't the size of the lines that they were talking about, it was the rugby-scrum-with-skis deal that came up again and again. Might be an exaggeration, but not worth flying across the Atlantic to investigate if Whistler, Crystal, and Baker are nearby IMO.

[jmace]

I have a close friend who works in some resorts in interlaken and last time we talked he said every euro has been really jealous about our ski seasons..and this year while riding WB quite a few times all I ran into was Euro's who said their seasons have really sucked. I believe the premier resort, cant remeber the name, in the Pyrenees didnt even open last winter or barely opened

 

 

[TREETOAD]

I just whipped down to Tacoma and bought a 2007 Xterra for about 7k C$ less than one up here. Since then the dollar has climbed about 3 centavos.

[jmace]

American cars have always been cheaper, waaay cheaper than the exact canadian car

[TREETOAD]

That is true but until now the dropping usd has made it really worth doing. That along with the very strong economy in canada

[cj001f]

It wasn't the size of the lines that they were talking about, it was the rugby-scrum-with-skis deal that came up again and again

 

No worse than Whistler on a powder day...... and unlike Whistler 99% of the Euro hordes will stick to the pistes leaving everything else for you.