Black diamonds: Tourism chief says skiing one of state’s jewels
Rick Barbero/The Register-HeraldAmy Shuler-Goodwin, deputy secretary of commerce and commissioner of tourism, skiing at Winterplace Ski Resort during the event that the West Virginia of Division of Tourism held in celebration of the learn to ski and snowboard campaign.
Black diamonds: Tourism chief says skiing one of state’s jewels
Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald Deputy secretary of commerce and commissioner of tourism, Amy Shuler Goodwin, after coming down a slope at Winterplace Ski Resort during the hosted event the West Virginia of Division of Tourism held a go outside and ski in celebration of learn to ski and snowboard month.
Posted: Friday, January 9, 2015 3:00 am
Register Herald
When Amy Shuler-Goodwin addressed nearly 200 people in Beckley in November at a conference on economic diversity in the region, she made the point several times that tourism had to be part of the discussion.
Goodwin, the state’s tourism commissioner, also said marketing dollars spent by her agency were being primarily used to target summer visitors to the state, even though studies showed that nearly half of out-of-state visitors were coming in winter.
On Thursday at Winterplace Ski Resort near Ghent, Goodwin made her pitch for winter sports in West Virginia.
“When we talk about the dollars and cents of skiing, we have to think about the fact that we’re supporting 5,000 jobs across the state,” she said. “That’s big business. They call us ‘The Mountain State’ for a reason. We’re known for a lot of wonderful things, and skiing and snowboarding are just some of them. We are encouraging a ‘Go Outside and Play’ campaign every month.”
Goodwin says she wants people to see that they don’t have to travel far to have a good time.
“You have things right in your backyard,” she said. “This is some of the best skiing on the East Coast.
“Our snowmaking conditions are phenomenal. We’re easy to get to. We’re affordable. We need to continue to market and advertise in West Virginia.”
To help promote the snow sports industry, the Division of Tourism has partnered with local ski resorts.
“The West Virginia ski industry is proud to participate in a national ‘Learn to Ski’ and ‘Learn to Snowboard’ campaign,” West Virginia Ski Areas Association Terry Pfeiffer said. “We are not only trying to introduce people to snow sports, but to convert them to lifelong skiers and snowboarders so that they’ll come back again and again to the state of West Virginia.
“West Virginia provides some of the finest teaching terrain in the country. The terrain is only as good as the teachers that use it. What makes this program work are the professional ski instructors who take the time to teach the new folks.”
Ski resorts in West Virginia see about 800,000 visitors a year, one official said.
“About 15 percent of those visitors are from West Virginia,” West Virginia Ski Areas Association Spokesman Joe Stevens said. “That 15 percent isn’t disappointing because that’s still at least 80,000 people skiing from West Virginia. We see a lot of young people who snow tube. That 800,000 number doesn’t include snow tubers, so that number is a little misleading.
“The majority of the skiers are from North Carolina and Virginia. During the three-week holiday season, we see tons of people from Florida. During the early and late parts of the season, we’ll see a lot of local West Virginians. Resorts like Winterplace have really tuned into the local audience by using specials to help locals understand what’s right in their back yard.”
You might need those specials and deals to give snow sports a try, Stevens said.
“Your average person has to get into this slowly,” he said. “To go out and buy new equipment, new gear, and everything would be a bit on the pricey side. You get better and you buy your own things.
“For someone getting into the sport, there’s great ‘Ski-and-Learn’ packages that include ski lift tickets and equipment rentals at a reasonable price. The deals are even better in the middle of the week.”
So what’s the appeal of skiing, anyway? Isn’t it just about falling and freezing?
Stevens said it’s like a chance to be closer to the heavens.
“This is like surfing the clouds,” he said. “I snowboard, myself. I’m 58 years old and I snowboard. It’s like surfing in the clouds, especially when you’ve got fresh snow beneath you and a freshly groomed slope.”
—Email: cneff@register-herald.com; Follow on Twitter @RHCodyNeff
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