A better way of marketing

Photo: Contributed

SilverStar Mountain Resort wants to form an association that would give it more tools to compete in a competitive market.

Open houses will be held Saturday Jan. 21 from 2-5 p.m. and Feb. 8 from 6-9 p.m. to provide more information on the proposal from the Silver Star Resort Association.

Those in attendance can listen to, and participate in, a discussion about the benefits of forming an association as well as the cost of membership.

Over the past year, a task force was formed to look at the best model to market the popular North Okanagan ski resort.

Following a review and evaluation of several options, the task force is recommending Silver Star an association.

Ken Derpak, Silver Star managing director, is one of nine people sitting on the board and he said the association will allow Silver Star to better market the hill and to tap into more resources.

Derpak noted many ski hills, such as Sun Peaks near Kamloops and Whistler, have formed associations and are reaping the benefits.

“It's really about marketing the resort,” he said, adding an association would give the hill an opportunity to access incremental funding for events and activities.

“As a not for profit, it could be a conduit for a hotel tax,” he said, noting that money could be used to market the resort.

The open house events will give people a chance to talk with task force members about how they arrived at the resort option as well as learn about proposed changes to the standard resort association bylaws.

People will also have a chance to make their views on the association known.

The meetings will be held at the National Altitude Training Centre at the resort.