The Garibaldi at Squamish project is on the clock, and the opposition voices are already lining up.
Paradise Valley residents are worried about water usage, environmentalists don’t want any more land developed, and many are bemoaning the potential ski conditions of the proposed resort.
One of the biggest voices against the projects is, not surprisingly, Whistler Blackcomb. They’re concerned about Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS) cutting into their stranglehold on the sport in the Sea to Sky Corridor, and to me, it almost legitimizes the tourism and sport aspect of GAS. If it has people in Whistler that worried, they must be doing something right.
It also speaks to a larger issue that Squamish seems to be gaining on Whistler as far as interest and tourism dollars go. In fact, it was just under three years ago that Tourism Whistler had a shake-up in their board – which many believe was due to a Squamish conflict of interest.
Jayson Faulkner stepped down from his position on the board of Tourism Whistler shortly after his appointment as general manager of the Sea to Sky Gondola, which just happened to be in direct competition with Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak Gondola.
“There were a couple of members of the board concerned that Jayson was going to take a position in a capacity that essentially could be competing with a product that we have in Whistler,” board chair Roger Soane told Glacier Media at the time.
Competition for tourism dollars is only going to get more intense between the two towns in the future, and the fact that Squamish is doing a better job of grabbing and keeping the tourists coming off of Highway 99 is definitely a big worry of Whistler. We’re not just a McDonalds and a gas station stop on the way north anymore.
Squamish has been more than accommodating to Whistler in recent years – just look at the Gran Fondo, when local people rearrange schedules to ensure cyclists can make their way to Whistler.
The point here is that Squamish shouldn’t allow Whistler to dictate what is and isn’t constructed. If the project passes assessment and the province wants to move it forward, then Squamish shouldn’t let the concerns of Whistler stand in the way.
Garibaldi at Squamish will ultimately sink or swim on its own, and Whistler should be focusing on the ways it can attract more dollars and provide a better experience rather than complain about what’s happening in Squamish.
