Pique Publishing Inc., publishers of Pique Newsmagazine, closed a deal this week to purchase the Whistler Resort Guest Directory from publisher Jim Tutsch. Tutsch started the publication in 1993. After working at Blackcomb Guest Relations he recognized visitors needed an information guide to Whistler. The publication has a circulation of 100,000 copies per issue and is published twice annually. It is distributed throughout the resort in hotels and on news stands, as well as internationally to tour guides. Tutsch says he sold the company because he felt as a one-man show he could not grow the publication and he wanted to move on to other things. He sold to Pique because of his desire to keep the publication local. The Guide has been a success because of the dedicated team that has worked on it and because of the continuous feedback received from the hotels and their guests, Tutsch said. Pique publisher Kathy Barnett said the Whistler Resort Guest Directory fits well with Pique Newsmagazine. "The Guide won’t compete with the weekly newsmagazine for advertising, but rather offers our customers another vehicle for advertising," Barnett said. Pique Publishing is a locally-owned company which began operations in November of 1994. Tutsch will remain involved with the Guide in an advisory role.
