This resort may be beautiful, but there's always room for improvement. Sometimes it's as simple as trimming back a tree in order to make a store frontage more visible.
That's the message of Whistler Village 3.0, initiated by the municipality in order to enhance the shopping, service and eating precincts for businesses and visitors alike.
The second of five meetings, each taking a close look at one part of the village, drew 40 food and beverage, retail and tourism business owners from The Village Stroll and Square and the Village Commons to discuss issues like access, image, impressions and sociability at the Whistler Conference Centre on July 26.
A previous meeting had participants from The Marketplace, Main Street and Whistler Olympic Plaza zone. Future meetings are planned Skiers Plaza and Mountain Square (July 29), Upper Village and Town Plaza.
The aim is to improve guest experience while enabling businesses to make the most of their locations and giving them a chance to work on improvements with their neighbours and officials.
"We know Whistler so well that we make assumptions that this place is easy to get around, but we have two millions visitors a year and most of them don't know it like we do," Kevin Damaskie, sustainability coordinator for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, told those who attended.
Craig Mackenzie with Sotheby's International Realty said he "must've helped hundreds of thousands of people in 30 years" get their bearings upon arriving at the resort.
Participants were asked to pick keywords that defined their precinct, the most strongly identified include "gateway," "Village Square," "dining" and "patios."
From these words an identity can be developed and promoted, Damaskie said.
For more, read Pique's next edition.
