2016 Socio Economic Impact Assessment of Helicopter and Snowcat Skiing in BC

ELEVATING ADVENTURE A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Created: August 25, 2016

•

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The helicopter and snowcat skiing industry occupies a unique and valuable place in BC at the forefront of its iconic reputation for adventure tourism. It is a truly world-class industry, acknowledged as the preferred destination for skiers and snowboarders from around the globe. These adventurers are drawn by the rugged mountains and ideal snow conditions, but also by the range and quality of services that the industry provides.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

•

The sector is diverse in its offerings, reflecting the entrepreneurial initiatives of the operators in building on their natural advantages. The 41 locations offer a variety of mountain terrain and snow types. Visitors can access the powder slopes by helicopter or by snow cat. They can choose among ski group sizes, although the nature of the activity is such that even the larger groups offer impressive access to terrain and guides.

They can purchase one-day or multi-day packages, the latter typically with deluxe accommodation, meals and beverages. They are provided with specialized equipment suited to the adventure. In some cases, guests make their own way to the operating location while in others the firm arranges all transportation.

The sector also stresses quality, as befits the international clientele it serves. The helicopter pilots are among the most skilled and experienced available.

Snow cat operators have great experience building tracks to remote areas and ferrying skiers. Guides hold widely recognized certifications. Support personnel

such as chefs and massage therapists are chosen for their qualifications and dedication to service. Staff have ample opportunities for training and upgrading.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS The sector provides significant economic benefits to the provincial economy. Due to the high numbers of international clientele, the helicat sector exports BC`s unique ski terrain and snow conditions although buyers must travel here to receive the product. This international majority results in little displacement of spending on other recreational activities in the province. The benefits flow from the expenditures on inputs into production that helicat firms incur in the course of providing ski services, and from the multiplier effects of these outlays. The data collected in the survey represents 81.5% of helicopter and 60.3% of snowcat skier days. By extrapolating these results to the whole industry, conservative estimates indicate that in a representative year the helicat sector adds $192 million to provincial output and over $95 million to GDP. It supports over 2000 total jobs equating to nearly 1300 FTE jobs, adds $55 million to family income and over $18 million to tax revenues.

This economic activity is especially valuable as it is concentrated in remote rural areas and communities where alternative economic opportunities are limited.

While relatively small on a provincial scale, helicat firms rank among the leading employers and economic engines of these centres. Their workforce is skilled and the positions are well-paying. Industry performance

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

varies with snow conditions, but otherwise is generally free of the cyclical disturbances seen in many natural resource sectors.

SOCIAL IMPACT The contributions of the industry extend well beyond these quantitative impacts, however. The sector has a considerable influence on British Columbia’s character and social landscape in ways impossible to measure numerically. Through the collaboration of the sector’s stakeholders, we created a collective discussion of the stories of the industry that best represent its overall social impact.

While there are both areas of appreciation and concern for the sector, the overall view by both industry and community stakeholders is that it makes a valuable contribution to the province. The sector exists in the rural spaces of the province, where it has a great impact on the character of the communities through the provision of commerce and employment opportunities, tourism promotion and the uniqueness of the experience. The professionalism of the industry, its contribution to public safety and the collaboration of the industry are all an important contribution supporting the development of backcountry recreation, including its public counterpart. While there are concerns about the sector, these focus on the security of its future in terms of climate change, land use issues, and clarifying government policy regarding tenure.

Stakeholders are also concerned with maintaining an economically viable industry into the future.

3

While this study analyzes thoroughly the impact of the industry’s expenditures and introduces a discussion into the social impacts of the sector, it also highlights the ability of further measures with the potential to provide a complete picture of the industry’s impact on the province. There are many areas identified that could be explored in depth to demonstrate the focus of their particular impact. However, through the combination of economic and social factors, it is clear that the helicat industry has a beneficial impact on the province and particularly within the communities that surround its operations.

•

4

•

Dave Silver

5

CONTENTS

06

INTRODUCTION

12

INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES

20

ECONOMIC IMPACT

40

SOCIAL IMPACT

50

CONCLUSION

•

6

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION

01

INTRODUCTION

The British Columbia government launched an economic development strategy in 2011. Dubbed the BC Jobs Plan, its stated objective is “to keep BC’s economy diverse, strong and growing.”1 The plan identifies eight sectors as key to the province’s future economic well being: agrifoods, forestry, international education, mining and energy, natural gas, technology and green economy, tourism and transportation.2 To this list it adds four “cross sectors”: Aboriginal peoples and First Nations, international trade and investment, manufacturing, and small business.

•

The BC Jobs Plan committed the government to developing strategies for each designated sector. The tourism plan, Gaining the Edge: a Five-Year Strategy for Tourism in British Columbia 2012-2016, was the first to be released.3 Gaining the Edge declares that “tourism will create jobs, opportunities and prosperity for British Columbians in every region of the province.” It identifies key tourism products and key markets and promises action in four main areas: leadership through partnership and coordination, focused marketing, world class visitor experiences, and removing barriers to growth.

Tourism is an obvious choice as a key sector. It provides a “face” for BC, and is the means whereby the province’s social, cultural, and environmental values are promoted internationally.4 This BC face highlights outdoors, nature and adventure. Thus the SuperNatural British Columbia marketing campaign focuses on what is most prominent in British Columbia: the mountains.5 “It’s a wild place where Mother Nature creates the boundaries. Not man.

And while she demands respect, her handiwork offers massive rewards for those wild at heart.”6 Tourism is also one of the province’s fastest-growing industries, outperforming its counterparts in the rest of Canada.7 The sector generated $4.6 billion in

revenue in 2014, which represents an increase of 5% from 2013 and of 20% from 2006. Employment in 2014 was 127,500, compared to 124,700 in 2013 (a 2% increase) and 114,700 in 2006 (an 11% increase). Wages and salaries were $4.3 billion in 2014 compared to $4.1 billion the previous year (a 5% increase) and $3.8 billion in 2006 (a 14% increase).8 Tourism supports the province’s economic development strategy in other ways as well. It is represented in all regions, from large urban areas to remote interior sites. It involves Aboriginal and First Nations peoples. It caters to an international as well as domestic market. And, in a relative sense at least, it is environmentally sustainable.

The helicopter and snowcat skiing (henceforth helicat) industry aligns perfectly with this tourism vision. If tourism is the face of British Columbia, helicat skiing is the face of BC tourism. It can truly claim to be world class; there is no other place on the globe that rivals British Columbia in the provision of helicopter and snowcat skiing. The combination of perfect snow, terrain and accessibility align to make the province an ideal destination for backcountry skiing. Mainly built from small businesses functioning on the hard work of passionate, mountain-loving people, it draws with a sense of exploration and adventure from around the world. The Canadian tradition that is enjoyed alongside the activities is a hallmark of the experience.

The alignment of the helicat industry with the province’s tourism strategy extends well beyond this image factor, however. It is a substantial economic sector in its own right and it supports a range of ancillary economic activity, most notably in rural areas and small communities. Proximity to the mountains makes these harder-to-reach places ideal

1

BC Jobs Plan. Plan, progress and updates. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/>

2

BC Jobs Plan. B.C.’s key economic sectors. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/categories/bc-jobs-plan-sectors/>

3

BC Jobs Plan. Gaining the edge: A five-year strategy for tourism in British Columbia 2012-2016. Web. July 20, 2016.

4

BC Jobs Plan. Gaining the edge: A five-year strategy for tourism in British Columbia 2012-2016.

<http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/tourismstrategy/documents/mjti_tourismstrategyreport_fnl.pdf>

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

for operations, and as a result they rely closely on these communities to provide support. The use of local amenities and businesses focuses the impact of the operations on these rural areas.

Helicat Canada feels it is important that these contributions be better known and appreciated. This study is one of a number of initiatives intended to raise the profile of the helicat industry with governments, businesses, and community groups in the province.

“IT’S A WILD PLACE WHERE MOTHER NATURE CREATES THE BOUNDARIES, NOT MAN. AND WHILE SHE DEMANDS RESPECT, HER HANDIWORK OFFERS MASSIVE REWARDS FOR THOSE WILD AT HEART.”

The study has three objectives. The first objective, the subject of the following section, is to provide a general portrait of the industry. Because operators are located in remote areas of the province and the great majority of its visitors come from other parts of Canada and other countries, many British Columbians have only a vague awareness and understanding of helicat skiing. We expect many readers of this section will be surprised to learn the extent of its geographical range, the complexity of its operations, and its close ties with local communities.

• SUPERNATURAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

The helicat sector also contributes a sustainable source of income from the province’s backcountry resources.

Snow is a renewable resource, replenishing itself almost daily in the mountains. The sale of a pristine experience has created a tradition of environmental consciousness in the industry to serve as a model for guests and other resource extraction sectors.

The helicat sector also relates directly to at least three of the cross sectors highlighted in the tourism strategy.

Helicat firms consult frequently with First Nations on issues of mutual interest and concern. Catering overwhelmingly to an international clientele, it is a key export industry for the province. And, as noted above, the firms are predominantly small and located in small mountain communities.

The contributions of the industry to the tourism strategy and to the province’s economic and social well-being are not fully known or appreciated; however.

5

The second objective is to illustrate the economic impact of the industry on the BC economy. Common indicators such as industry gross revenue or total employment provide only a partial account of the economic impact of helicat skiing. In order to provide world-class skiing opportunities for its clientele, helicat firms purchase millions of dollars worth of goods and services and meet payrolls that run in the millions as well. Many of the supplier industries and virtually all of the employees reside in BC, so these initial expenditures by helicat operators are re-spent and re-spent, providing further rounds of income and employment to British Columbians far removed from the sector’s activities.

The third section provides an account of the full economic impact of the helicat industry on the BC economy. Operators provided information on annual revenues and on capital and operating expenditures for detailed expenditure categories and these data were

Hello BC. Super, natural British Columbia. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://www.hellobc.com/british-columbia/about-bc.aspx>

6

Hello BC. Super, natural British Columbia.

7

BC Jobs Plan. B.C.’s key economic sectors – Tourism. Web. July 20, 2016. http://engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/economy/tourism/>

8

BC Stats. Tourism Data. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/BusinessIndustry/Tourism.aspx>

7

•

8

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION

then run through the BC input-output model to derive the multiplier effects of the initial industry outlays for a variety of economic indicators.

Section three captures only one facet of the contributions of the helicat industry to provincial and local communities. There are other economic and social contributions that cannot be captured in the standard economic impact analysis. We have already noted the visible role the sector plays as the face of the tourism industry. As another example, skilled helicat personnel work closely with other experts to minimize risks from avalanches and other natural back-country hazards, and play a leading role in rescue and recovery operations when disasters occur. And, while the industry may be a small part of the provincial economy overall, individual firms are a major economic and social presence in their local communities.

â&#x20AC;˘

Section four discusses these less easily quantified contributions using state of the art social impact analysis. In order to open up the social impact analysis to the greater community and gain input from all stakeholders of the industry, a multi-dimensional tool was used to conduct a community survey. The objective of this survey is to provide stakeholders from the community, businesses, organizations, and even ski guests with an opportunity to voice their perspective.

The study was prepared under the direction of Ian Tomm, Executive Director of Helicat Canada, and an Advisory Board drawn from industry personnel.

The analysis and writing were conducted by independent consultants. Ken Norrie is responsible for the economic impact portions of the study. Dr. Norrie holds a PhD in economics from Yale University (1971).

He held academic positions at the University of Alberta (1971-2001) and McMaster University (2002-2012), specializing in Canadian economic history, regional economics, and public policy. He is now retired and living in Revelstoke.

Miranda Murphy is responsible for the social impact portions of the study, and for assisting helicat firms in preparing their data submissions. Miranda has a MA in Integrated Studies (2012) through which she focused on the application of grounded theory methodology for social research applications. She is currently living in Revelstoke pursuing an accounting designation, which was a progression from her work within the helicat industry in previous years.

We welcome questions and comments on the study itself and on the helicat industry more generally. These should be addressed in the first instance to Ian Tomm at info@helicat.org.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

9

â&#x20AC;¢

Reuben Krabbe

10

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION

24

29

HELICAT OPER ATING LOCATIONS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA The Helicat operators surveyed CAT SKI OPERATIONS exist in all corners of the province of British Columbia; 1 Baldface Lodge however, their operations are 2 Island Lake Lodge concentrated in rural areas with 3 K3 Cat Skiing lower population density. Of the 41 operators in British Columbia, 4 Monashee Powder Snowcats the 22 survey respondents' 5 Mustang Powder operating locations are represented on this map. Along 6 Retallack with the operations are the 7 Selkirk Skiing towns closestSnowcat to each operation and the political boundaries in Lodge 8 White Grizzly Cat Skiing which they lie.

26

HAZELTON

SMITHERS TERRACE

SKEENA

HELI SKIING OPERATIONS 9 Bella Coola Helisports

â&#x20AC;¢

9

10 CMH Adamants

BELLA COOLA

11 CMH Bobbie Burns 12 CMH Bugaboos 13 CMH Caribous

CARIBOU

14 CMH Galena 15 CMH Gothics 16 CMH K2 Rotor Lodge 17 CMH Monashees 18 CMH Nomads 19 CMH Revelstoke 20 CMH Valemount

LOWER MAINLAND

21 Cresent Spur 22 Eagle Pass Heliskiing 23 Great Canadian Heliskiing 24 Last Frontier Heli Skiing 25 Mica Heliskiing 26 Northern Escape Heli-Skiing 27 RK Heliski 28 Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing 29 Skeena Heliskiing 30 Snowwater Heliskiing 31 Stellar Heliskiing 32 Whistler Heliskiing

32

VANCOUVER ISLAND

WHISTLER

VANCOUVER

11

PARTICIPATING OPERATIONS

PEACE

SNOWCAT SKI OPER ATIONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

OMINECA

Baldface Lodge Island Lake Lodge K3 Cat Ski Monashee Powder Snowcats Mustang Powder Retallack Selkirk Snowcat Skiing White Grizzly Cat Skiing Lodge

HELICOPTER SKI OPER ATIONS

21

McBRIDE 20 13

VALEMOUNT

25 17 15

23

THOMPSON KAMLOOPS

10

5

CHASE

28

3 22

REVELSTOKE 11

4

BANFF

14

COLDSTREAM

8

NAKUSP

OKANAGAN SOUTH SLOCAN

12

18

16

KELOWNA

GOLDEN

19

7 6 31

1

27

RADIUM HOT SPRINGS INVERMERE

MEADOW CREEK KASLO

NELSON

KOOTENAY

30 2

FERNIE

9 Bella Coola Heli Sports 10 CMH Adamants 11 CMH Bobbie Burns 12 CMH Bugaboos 13 CMH Cariboos 14 CMH Galena 15 CMH Gothics 16 CMH K2 Rotor Lodge 17 CMH Monashees 18 CMH Nomads 19 CMH Revelstoke 20 CMH Valemount 21 Cresent Spur 22 Eagle Pass Heliskiing 23 Great Canadian Heliskiing 24 Last Frontier Heli Skiing 25 Mica Heliskiing 26 Northern Escape Heli-Skiing 27 RK Heliski 28 Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing 29 Skeena Heliskiing 30 Snowwater Heli Skiing 31 Stellar Heliskiing 32 Whistler Heli-Skiing

â&#x20AC;¢

12

SECTION 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES

02

INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES Helicopter and cat skiing operators are able to offer a unique skiing experience to their clients. The vast majority of skiers use lifts to reach the groomed slopes of a controlled ski area. These resorts are relatively easy to access, so their mountain slopes – full of signage, defined ski runs and people – are not representative of a true Canadian wilderness experience.

•

Helicopter and cat skiing offer a completely different product. These operations allow small groups of people to travel deep into the remote mountains to ski untouched powder snow with a certified ski guide. In contrast to skiing at a resort, helicopters and snowcats offer greater variety of terrain and a chance to ski in a pristine wilderness environment. For a skier or snowboarder, the experience of fresh, deep snow is the ultimate goal, and the accessibility granted by helicopter and cat skiing in British Columbia is unrivaled anywhere else in the world.

Helicopter skiing involves groups of 4 to 11 guests that are brought by helicopter up along with their guides to predetermined landing sites within the operational tenure. Guides determine the day’s route plan and lead the group through alpine glaciers, open bowls, old growth forests and burns or cut blocks to a helicopter waiting down below. The amount of skiing in a day is determined by the group and snow or weather conditions, which are closely monitored by guides and pilots.

Cat skiing is a similar experience in which a snowcat (a large tracked vehicle with a passenger compartment) is used to drive about 12 guests up snow roads that have been built by the operation throughout the winter. Guests are dropped off at the top of a given run before following their guide through varied terrain as the snowcat driver takes the road to meet them back at the bottom.

Helicopter and snowcat skiing were born in British Columbia and the province remains the industry’s world leader. Helicopter skiing was pioneered in the Bugaboos over 50 years ago, while snowcat skiing first emerged

in the Kootenay region over 40 years ago. Since then, there has been steady growth, with an average of three new operations starting up every four years1.

CURRENT INDUSTRY PROFILE The helicat industry is an often overlooked sector in British Columbia. As operations are mostly based in remote lodges and marketed largely to guests from outside their immediate vicinity, they tend to operate quietly and independently. However, their impact reaches far beyond their immediate ownership.

Participating operators took the time to complete a comprehensive survey to tell their story. The survey was distributed to all HeliCat Canada Association member and non-member operations along with the economic survey portion. Operations were encouraged to engage all levels of staff in responding to the survey, but in all cases a delegate at the managerial level was responsible for the submission.

Responses from this survey were organized using qualitative data analysis methods. The survey was designed to inspire narrative and long-form answers based on key areas of impact as identified by the research team and industry leadership committee.

Due to the open-ended nature of the survey questions there was considerable crossover in the answers so the groups of responses were aggregated as a whole.

The responses were categorized by repetition and commonalities, which allowed the data to define the important categories in the results rather than rely on the arbitrary framework of the questions asked.

The following presentation gives a narrative of the industry’s important demographics, combining the quantitative demographic statistics collected with the story of the helicat sector as told by its main characters – the operators who rely on it as part of their life, livelihood and community.

1

Based on survey data collected.

2

Currently, HeliCat Canada is aware of 41 active helicopter and snowcat skiing operations in BC. Of these, 29 are full members of HeliCat Canada.

In total, 22 operators participated in the survey who have a total of 32 operating locations, due to some operations using several lodges across BC.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

13

BY THE NUMBERS

Quotations from the survey responses are presented throughout and are chosen to highlight the overall operator views and actions found in the collective data.

“COMPARING BACKCOUNTRY SKIING TO OTHER INDUSTRIES, IT IS A VERY SMALL INDUSTRY, DRIVEN BY UNIQUE, DEDICATED, PASSIONATE OPERATORS. THIS COLLECTION OF BACKCOUNTRY OPERATORS AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT EACH OPERATOR PROVIDES CANNOT BE FOUND ANY WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. THE QUALIT Y OF SNOW, TERRAIN, THE ESCAPE FROM THE CROWDS (THAT YOU WOULD EXPERIENCE THROUGH NORMAL TOURIST ACTIVITIES – I.E. THEME PARKS, SPAS, ETC.) ARE ALL THE REASONS THAT BC MECHANIZED SKIING CONTINUES TO BE SHOWCASED ON THE WORD STAGE!”

OPER ATIONS There are currently a total of 41 helicat operators across the province.2 All of their operating locations were focused close to economic centres with an average population of 4,325 and a maximum population of 11,486.

Fourteen helicopter and eight snowcat skiing operations participated in this survey. As reported by the operations surveyed, 24,579 skiers per year took part in 73,604 days of skiing. Compared to total skier days per season across the industry, these operations represented 75% of the total skier days on average for the past three operating seasons (2013 – 2015).

The data presented are for this sample size and have not been extrapolated to speak for the entire population.

While most operations were uniquely helicopter or snowcat specific, three helicopter locations offer cat skiing back-up and one snowcat operator has a helicopter skiing option. Guided ski touring is also offered at 32% of all operations, where clients hike up the mountains with their guide before skiing down for an added degree of mountain solitude.

Skiing is offered in packages of different lengths from single day skiing to over five days of skiing. While all ski packages include guide services, the packages are more comprehensive when they include two or more days of skiing, where most packages include specialized ski equipment (68%), lodging (77%),

41 Operators in British Columbia

14 Helicopter skiing operators particpiated

8 Snowcat skiing operators particpiated

24,579 Skiers per year

73,604 Days of skiing

75% Percent of average industry total skier days

•

14

SECTION 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES

and food and beverage service (86%). About half of these packages also include the use of an avalanche airbag (55%) and transportation to the lodge from the visitor’s entry point into British Columbia (48%).

Half of day skiing packages include specialized ski equipment (41%) and food and beverage service (45%), but these packages are less likely to include the use of an avalanche airbag (27%), lodging (18%) and transportation (9%). Most operations that do not include these options in their package pricing will arrange for these services at an extra charge.

In addition to ski packages, operators also reported other sources of revenue including merchandise sales (95%), food and beverage service to non-skiers (91%), accommodation for non-skiers (71%) and other options such as special transportation, extra nights’ accommodation, extra skiing above daily limits, photography, satellite internet charges and equipment rentals.

•

Several operators continue operations outside of the ski season, bringing in revenue from accommodation at their lodges (48%), food and beverage services (43%), bar services (28%), massage (28%), heli-hiking (19%), and other activities like mountain biking, heli-biking, fuel sales, commercial media and film and merchandise sales.

IMPROVING THE ECONOMY The prevalence of helicat operators in a community elevates the economy of the community and surrounding areas by increasing tourism in the area and generating revenue for themselves and other local businesses. Operators surveyed reported an average yearly revenue of $116.6 million from 2013 to 2015 with an average revenue growth of 3% over the three years.

This statistic is impressive, and likely conservative considering the 2015 operating season was victim to challenging weather conditions which impacted the length and quality of the operating season for many businesses and caused a slump in the industry’s growth for the year. Despite the challenging season, there is evidence that in 2016 the number of skier days has recovered, most likely due to better weather conditions and a favourable exchange rate for many guests.

Although helicopter and snowcat skiing is a small part of British Columbia’s provincial tourism sector, it is significant relative to the rural economies in which these operations are centred. Given the need for remote terrain, helicopter and cat skiing operations bring tourists to small and often isolated communities that may not otherwise see much traffic, particularly in winter.

Increasing tourism in an area diversifies the economy from the typical resource extraction-based economies common in rural BC.

“THEY’RE SEEN AS TOURISM COMMUNITIES, RATHER THAN COMMUNITIES THAT SUFFER FROM THE VAGARIES OF RESOURCE EXTRACTION CYCLES.”

Operators create locally-based, well paid, satisfying employment that allows people to stay in these places.

A recent wage and benefit survey conducted by HeliCat Canada demonstrated this.

“Like most in our industry, our staff are well-paid. Those salaries are critical parts of diverse local economies and don’t tend to be as cyclical as those in resource extraction industries."

Other local businesses are bolstered by operators’ spending as well, with much of their financial expenditures being dedicated to community-based suppliers of goods and services.

“We want not only for our organization to succeed, but our community to succeed with us and reap the rewards” Helicat guests are also contributors to the local economy during their visit. Given the expense of a helicat skiing trip, guests tend to be affluent tourists seeking high-end services who will spend the money necessary to curate and enjoy a luxury vacation. “[Helicat guests bring] money and a very relaxed attitude towards spending it in some regards. What I mean by this is our clientele do not think twice in regards to buying the newest ski and snowboard equipment at local stores, spending $ 50 – 100 on a

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

nice bottle of wine to go with their steak dinner at a local restaurant, or taking in an extra winter activity during their stay. They have very large disposable cash and are not afraid to spend it while on vacation.”

The helicat sector’s contribution to rural economies in the form of revenue, employment and tourism traffic allows these towns to grow and diversify beyond the limits of other resource-driven economies.

ENGAGING PASSIONATE PEOPLE Helicat operators provide opportunities for employment that attract passionate, educated, interested people to live and work in rural areas. (See map page 8-9.) The operations surveyed provided 257 full time, year round jobs and 804 full time, seasonal jobs per year, in addition to 24 part time, year round jobs and 230 part time, seasonal jobs per year. This is the equivalent of creating 728 full time jobs per year in rural British Columbia. Workers are able to engage in skilled employment and also make valuable contributions to their communities outside of work.

BY THE NUMBERS 116,643,000

$

Operators surveyed reported an average yearly revenue from 2013-2015

•3%

“[Helicat] operations bring the most exciting, highly educated, well versed and travelled people to our community. It attracts the leaders in a lot of categories and it is through this unique collection of diversity that our community can continue to lead.”

Average revenue growth from 2013-2015

Employers reported that, on average 18% of their employees had a university degree, 16% had a college diploma, 10% had completed an apprenticeship program, 35% had guiding certifications and 4% had other forms of education.

On top of their education background, employees receive extensive training to improve their skills. Most operators touted intensive in-house training for staff.

70% offer tuition fee subsidies for external training and 34% of employers offer paid leave for educational purposes.

728

“While we tend to hire people with the skill sets needed to do their jobs, we only hire people who are passionate, interesting and interested. But we train the heck out of them, always ensuring that they continue to improve in their jobs.”

44%

The training they receive through employment in the towns in which they live is also highly applicable to their employment in other economies and during the off-season.

“Our guides have a vast safety and backcountry skillset that can be applied to multiple different industries. This is also a skillset that is very unique and not common in today’s workforce. They are regularly employed by non-ski industries that require [them] to complete a job in remote areas.”

Their dedication and passion is not only a hallmark of the industry’s appeal in terms of guest satisfaction. Staff are typically active participants in their communities and contribute economically and voluntarily in many aspects.

15

Full time jobs per year in rural British Columbia

Employees have post-secondary education

35% Employees have guiding certifications

•

16

SECTION 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES

operators. Helping to shape the identity of the community as a ski destination is a matter of pride for operations.

“Our operation (and all the other back country lodges around) add to the town’s identity as an exceptional skiing destination.”

The large international client base of these operations has also created a spotlight on the world stage for these small communities and has helped put them on the map for the incredible skiing opportunities they offer. This is particularly valued in communities that do not otherwise draw much national and international attention.

“Adding clients going through the town gives the locals a feeling that their hill and town is actually something of value. People come here for skiing, cool!”

Reuben Krabbe

WIDER EXPOSURE

•

COMMUNIT Y CONTRIBUTION

Operators report that 75% of their clientele is international, 17% is Canadian from outside British Columbia, and only 8% of clients are from within the province. Attracting a wider variety of international cultures to Canada increases the awareness and skill diversity of local staff, creating connections with people they otherwise may never meet.

Operators, for the most part, work and live in communities near their operations and have a vested interest in the success of those around them. Their operations tend to be very active in support of local organizations, clubs, charities and not-for-profit entities.

“An upscale clientele that visits our operation is exposed to the region and has opened these guests up to real estate opportunities, potential add-on and separate vacations to the local ski areas and the numerous summer offerings including world class fly fishing.”

“We organize several events each year to further give back to the community and strengthen the community spirit including film tours, comedy tours and outdoor festivals.”

Heli and cat skiing images are a highly valued component of Destination BC’s Supernatural BC marketing campaign and local tourism organizations.

63% of operations partner with their local agencies and 61% are partnered with Destination BC.3

“Guests and staff alike appreciate the Kootenay vibe and individual characters that contribute to our unique atmosphere.”

“This not only happens through the individuals who work for us but at the company level as well. We support a wide range of programs that include alpine ski teams, local food banks, day cares, high school students, mountain museums, cross country ski clubs and local sports teams.”

Operations play a large role in shaping the identity of the community for residents. The community residents are equally as passionate about the surrounding mountains and backcountry recreation opportunities as the

3

“We’re a globally unique part of Canada’s and BC’s tourism brands. For example, images from our sector are front and centre in Destination BC’s Wild Within campaigns. Many of our guests from around the world think heli and cat skiing when they think of BC.” Media groups consistently produce adventure media segments and articles with the help of operators, and some wider market projects have also used the

Destination British Columbia. Winter activities – Heli-skiing and cat-skiing. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://www.hellobc.com/british-columbia/things-to-do/winter-activities/heli-skiing-cat-skiing.aspx>

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

resources they provide. In addition to tourism media, operations often host ski media groups and mainstream media projects that can have a wide reach among the general population.

“Our media programs and initiatives shine a powerful spot light on the mountains of British Columbia. We work with partners like Destination Canada, Destination BC, Kootenay Rockies Tourism and Tourism Alberta.”

Helicat operations are expanding to include summer activities and guests are returning to experience the mountains in the summer, often with their families.

“It provides a whole lot of destination marketing buzz to [the communities] and BC as a whole. Ski guests enjoy their winter stay, then bring their family and friends the following winter, or during the summer months.”

PUBLIC SAFET Y Helicat operators are in a position to offer a significant contribution to public safety. The dedication of operators is often overlooked as they interrupt their own operations to assist in search and rescue efforts, respond to public accidents and provide help in other operations.

“We have been involved in many highway, public backcountry and commercial backcountry rescue or first aid operations. The fact that we have helicopters available in a close proximity to these activities can often be life saving.”

They have a strong knowledge base in backcountry travel and avalanche safety, which they share directly with the public by educating their staff and contributing to public education courses and events. The highly trained staff are also individual contributors through personal involvement with search and rescue and other organizations.

“We provide an experienced base of people as well as extensive resources to mount search and rescue operations.”

All operators contribute daily to an information exchange where they share snow observations and conditions with all other ski operations. This information makes up the majority of the data used to create public avalanche bulletins available to all backcountry users.

17

“Every day of our season we upload our data onto the InfoEx site. The data is invaluable to backcountry users no matter their stripe and without all our collective input, the backcountry would be a much less safe place to go. I believe that it is both a community service and an unwritten obligation of public land use.

Everybody benefits from the sharing of this information and the more users who have access to this info, the safer the backcountry will be.”

Without this assistance and data, public bulletins would be a very different product.

SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT Helicat operations take place on Crown Land under an operating tenure through cooperation with many stakeholders including forestry operations, First Nations groups and backcountry recreationalists. While there may be a long history of operations in the area, tenure applications must be renewed and are impacted by the other users of the land. “[Some threats are] the relative weakness of our land tenures including permits, building strong relationships with other user groups despite government’s lack of management capability or political will.”

Proactive cooperation is necessary to maintain relationships and reduce any threats of tenure loss, which would severely impact an operation. Operators are willing to cooperate and build relationships to maintain their tenures, but the relative insecurity of their usage is unsettling, as land use is central to their operations as a business. “[We]…take pride on being a steward of the land and environment. We follow all best practices laid out in our management plan and MFLNRO guidelines.”

Operations take care to meet and exceed all regulations and guidelines provided for mitigating their impact on wildlife and contributing their knowledge and sightings to interested groups. “[We] meet expectations of government and resident biologists on proper identification and mitigation for the least impact on wildlife during operating season. [We] stay informed and up to date on the ever changing climate of species at risk. [We] report

•

18

SECTION 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES

and document volunteer information and data to government and abide by all regulations for minimizing any impacts on wildlife.”

They maintain to have as little impact as possible on their environment, using low impact backcountry lodges, micro-hydro operations, and reducing fuel consumption whenever possible.

“We feel heli-skiing is of low impact to our environment.

Consumption of jet fuel could be considered our worst shortfall. We minimize our flight paths, shut down helicopters when appropriate to help save fuel burn.

We have best practices in place for handling jet fuel.”

“We make full use of our micro hydro which powers most of our lodge and cat shed operations. This saves us thousands of litres of fuel annually. We compost all our waste products and ship them to the valley for use on organic farms. We purchase as much local product as we can to reduce transport costs and support or local farmers. We recycle all of our plastic, paper, metal and glass waste.”

•

Helicat operators have a great respect for the mountains and the wilderness. The product they provide depends upon a pristine environment so they are highly motivated to protect it. They are able to invest in their own future and the education of their guests by promoting best practices in terms of environmental sustainability for their operations.

AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE This is Canada. Helicat operations allow people to experience what residents of small mountain communities treasure. People truly enjoy their experience. Helicopter and cat skiing trips are sometimes viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; however, operations report that 55% of their clients return each year.

“It says something of our product when skiers from these countries with a deep history of skiing travel to our destination to ski and not just once, but on a regular basis.”

BC is the world leader when it comes to helicopter and cat skiing due to its vast resources of untouched backcountry and high quality snow.

“There are a few things Canada is the very best at worldwide but heli-skiing is one of them. 3 reasons: We have the helicopters which are used for industrial purposes in the summer, broad glaciers are north of the 49th parallel and we have enough wilderness where we don’t constantly run into other user groups. You need all three and they don’t have it in Europe.”

Helicat operations allow people safe, controlled, accessible trips into remote wilderness areas they otherwise would not be able to access. However, the experience is about more than just the skiing.

“The hutenzauber (hut magic) that happens in our lodge is unlike any other kind of tourism experience in Canada. The opportunity to live and play with groups of interesting people, in intimate and friendly settings is – as they say – priceless.”

The experience of a helicopter or snowcat skiing holiday embodies a luxury, wilderness-based hospitality that is quintessentially Canadian. Each operation has its own character and set of activities that sets it apart.

“We have a weekly hockey game at the lodge where we invite the locals to play. That is the biggest activity that people associate with Canada.”

They take pride in their businesses, and in their ability to create an atmosphere and experience that people return for each year.

Overall, the helicopter and cat skiing industry is primarily based on passionate recreation. It is special in that the experience of skiing in remote mountains is equally as satisfying for the operation’s staff, guides and owners as it is for the tourists who come from around the world to enjoy it. British Columbia has the privilege of providing some of the best and most unique experiences in the world.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

19

â&#x20AC;¢

Alain Sleigher

20

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

03

ECONOMIC IMPACT

This section provides estimates of the impacts of the helicat ski industry on the BC economy. We begin with a brief explanation of the methodology used to derive these estimates. We then recount how the data were assembled and finally present and discuss the empirical results.

A FEW WORDS ON ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS Economic impact analysis is a methodology developed to determine the impact of a specific economic activity on the economy as a whole. The economy in question can be local, regional, provincial or national depending on the motives for the analysis and on data availability.

â&#x20AC;˘

Impact analysis is commonly used to gauge the economic consequences of undertaking a one-time project such as constructing a new dam or hosting a major sporting or cultural event. The objective is to estimate the extent to which the project will affect such economic indicators as aggregate output, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, and tax revenue.

In these cases, the economic impacts take place over a discrete period of time, after which they fall to zero.

The methodology can also be used to investigate the contributions of specific sectors such as tourism or forestry to the overall economy. The indicators are similar but in these cases the impacts are ongoing rather than one-time. This is the perspective we use in this study as we are interested in determining the yearover-year contributions of the helicat ski industry to the BC economy.

The simplest way to measure impact effects for a specific sector is to calculate its share of provincial output, employment, and tax revenue. The larger these shares, all else being equal, the greater presumably is the importance of the sector to the overall economy.

But these simple measures ignore the fact that sectors may have very different linkages to the rest of the economy, and thus in the amount of indirect economic

activity that they support indirectly. For example, some sectors may purchase large quantities of intermediate inputs while others may require relatively few. Some may purchase these inputs from local suppliers while others may import them. Some sectors may be labour intensive while others may be capital intensive. Some may mainly hire local workers while others may import specialized labour services. The greater the requirement for intermediate inputs, the higher the proportion of these inputs that are supplied locally, the larger the wage bill, and the more it accrues to provincial residents, the greater will be the indirect economic impact of a sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities.

The helicat sector is a prime example of a case where it is important to undertake a more nuanced approach to the economic impact it has on the BC economy. Helicat firms purchase a wide variety of intermediate inputs to provide unique skiing experiences. Obvious examples include helicopter and snowcat services, ski equipment, utilities, and groceries. Less visibly perhaps, they also include the services of accountants, bankers, and insurance agents. Helicat firms also employ many kinds of full-time and seasonal workers such as managers, ski guides, chefs, massage therapists, and bus drivers.

Any calculations of the economic contribution of the helicat industry to the BC economy and to the local communities in which the operations are based must take explicit account of these linkage effects.

Economic impact analysis does so by identifying three types of connections. The first type, known as the direct impact, refers to expenditures by the industry on purchased intermediate inputs, labour, and operating profits. The extent of this impact depends on the magnitude of the spending by helicat firms and the proportion of it that flows to suppliers located within the province. Spending on provincially-supplied inputs (e.g. contracting with resident fuel suppliers) provides revenue to local firms and thus will have further economic ripples. Spending on products from outside

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

the province (e.g. contracting directly with out-ofprovince fuel suppliers) is an import and any ripple effects will accrue to other provinces or countries.

The spending on intermediate inputs that accrues to provincially-based suppliers generates a second round of economic activity, known as the indirect impact. To provide the products the helicat sector requires, these provincially-based suppliers turn to their own sources for intermediate inputs and to the labour market for the requisite employees. Helicopter charter firms purchase fuel and machine parts, hire pilots and mechanics, and add to their insurance coverage. Businesses that provide the sector with its food and beverage needs place orders with agricultural suppliers and wineries and contract for trucking services.

The indirect impact continues through third and subsequent rounds as each business in turn places orders for its own intermediate inputs and labour services. The size of the indirect effect will depend on the magnitude of this spending and on the proportion that flows to provincially-based suppliers in each round.

The greater the share that is directed to BC firms, the greater will be the indirect effects of helicat activity.

As above, orders placed with suppliers outside the province are imports and the ripple effects accrue to other jurisdictions.

There is a third linkage effect known as the induced impact. Helicat firms employ labour in their production processes and earn operating profits, as do suppliers of goods and services in each subsequent round of spending. These incomes are spent on consumer products such as housing, vehicle repairs, school supplies, clothing, and restaurant meals. The size of the induced impact depends on the magnitude of the employee compensation generated, the percentage of the compensation that is spent on consumption (as distinct from savings and taxes paid which are treated as another leakage), and the proportion that goes on locally-produced products (e.g. housing, groceries)

21

rather than those imported from other provinces or countries (e.g. Ontario wine, Caribbean vacations).

The higher is the propensity to consume out of labour income and the greater is the proportion of this spending that goes to local products the greater will be the induced impact.

In sum, the economic contribution of helicat firms to the BC economy extends beyond the amounts it spends directly on intermediate inputs, employee compensation and operating profit. These initial outlays support further rounds of spending and re-spending, which means that the eventual economic impact is a multiple of the original outlays by the sector. Economic impact analysis undertakes to gauge the size of this multiplier.

The concept of a multiplier effect is not always valid, however, despite its popularity in economic impact analyses. When undertaking such calculations for a specific sector, it is important to consider the source of the demand for its output. Sectors that produce mainly for local or provincial markets may have the spread effects noted above, but the demand for their products is generally largely at the expense of demand for other locally-produced products. For example, a BC family may choose to buy lift passes at a local ski hill over spending the same amount going out for dinner. The net effect of their recreational spending then is the value of the spread effects of the ski hill minus the foregone spread effects for the local restaurant industry.

Contrast this with the situation where the spending on the activity originates outside the provincial economy; i.e. where the product is exported. In this case, there is no displacement of local spending. Spending on exports represents an external injection into the local economy.

There are no foregone spread effects as any foregone opportunities occur in other jurisdictions. This is the case, for example, when Albertans frequent BC ski hills.

The foregone economic spread effects in this event are back in Alberta.

â&#x20AC;˘

22

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

This distinction is important for this study as the helicat sector is overwhelmingly an export industry. A very high proportion of its clientele are resident in other provinces or countries. Helicopter ski firms responding to the survey discussed below reported that clients from outside Canada accounted for 83% of their skier days while those from other provinces accounted for 14%. The snowcat sector draws proportionately more of its clientele from with BC (16%), but even here 75% of skier days went to clients from other provinces or other countries. In effect, the helicat sector exports BC`s unique ski terrain and snow conditions although buyers must travel here to receive the product.

â&#x20AC;˘

Capturing the linkage effects for the helicat sector requires a detailed understanding of the complex interindustry connections in a modern economy. We need to know the inputs into the activity, the industries in the economy that produce the inputs, the inputs into these supplier industries, the industries that produce these inputs, and so forth down the supply chain. We also need to know what products employees spend their earnings on, the industries that produce these consumer products, where these industries acquire their inputs, and so forth back into the supply chain.

Fortunately, there is a well-established procedure for dealing with these industry interactions. The core of the model is an input-output table. As the name suggests, this table, (these tables, actually), provides a snapshot of the complex web of linkages in a modern economy. They are constructed expressly to trace the effects that activities in one sector have on other parts of the economy.

Input-output tables exist for the national economy and for each province and can be downloaded for use in offices and other workplaces. Alternatively, BC Statistics staff will undertake custom economic impact analyses on a costrecovery basis. We used the latter option in this case.

Economic impact analyses typically focus on four indicators. The first and most obvious is output, equal to the value of the goods and services produced in a given sector or, aggregated, in the economy overall.

This is a convenient measure in that it is generally readily available, but it is limited in that it ignores double counting. The value of final output in the helicat industry, for example, includes the value of all purchased inputs such as helicopter and snowcat

1

services. Simply adding together output effects by sector means that the contributions of the helicopter and snowcat sectors will be double counted. The further back in the supply chain one goes, the greater is the double counting issue.

The second indicator is Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Formally, GDP for an economy as a whole is defined as the dollar value of all final goods and services produced in a given period, where final goods and services are those intended for use within the economy by consumers, investors and governments or those intended for export. Calculating GDP then involves identifying spending on all final goods and services produced in an economy in a given time period. For example, GDP would include the value of guided ski services provided in a given period but not the value of the helicopter or snowcat inputs that went into providing those services.

The value of final goods and services produced in a given period is equivalent to the value added at each stage of production. Value added is equal to the dollar value of a sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s output minus the dollar value of all intermediate goods and services used in the production process. This provides an alternative way to calculate GDP by summing value added at each stage of production. In the helicat example, one would sum value added in helicopter and snowcat skiing with that in helicopter or snowcat suppliers and so forth back in the supply chain. GDP is a preferred indicator as it specifically excludes issues of double counting.

The third indicator is employment. How many jobs does the sector in question support, both directly and indirectly? This indicator is used as it is frequently of particular interest to governments. Employment can be measured in headcount terms or as full-time equivalents (FTEs). A related indicator is household income, equal to the value of wages, salaries and benefit accruing to employees in the sector of interest itself and in related industries.

The fourth common indicator is the value of taxes generated, distinguished by layer of government.

Obviously, this indicator is of particular interest to governments and to the local communities in which the sector operates.

Details on the BC input-output model are available at <http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Economy/BCInputOutputModel.aspx>

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

ASSEMBLING THE DATA The main data requirements for the economic impact analysis are information on expenditures by the helicat industry, on intermediate and labour inputs into production and the proportion of these expenditures made within BC. To compile this information, we designed a survey of average annual revenue and expenditures of operating firms. The survey was put together in consultation with industry experts, helicat operators, and BC Statistics personnel.

We distinguish two types of expenditures. Recurrent expenditures, as the name implies, are outlays that firms make each year in the course of operations.

Helicopter and snowcat services, groceries, and ski guides are examples. Non-recurrent expenditures, again as the name implies, are outlays that firms make on an occasional basis. These expenditures last for a discrete period after which they drop to zero. Snowcat purchases, lodge construction, and major terrain enhancements are examples. In total, the survey identified 36 recurrent input categories, 12 nonrecurrent expenditure categories, and two categories of labour input.

The goal is to estimate the impact of the industry on the BC economy in a given period, one year in this case. The helicat industry is dependent on climate conditions over which it has no control, however, meaning revenue and expenditure can vary from year to year. This feature poses an obvious problem in picking a representative year for recurrent expenditures. Choosing a good snow year will overstate the economic impact of the industry while choosing a poor year will understate it. There is a similar issue for non-recurrent expenditures. Choosing a year with lots of equipment purchases or lodge construction or renovation will overstate economic impacts while the opposite is true for years with relatively little activity.

To resolve these issues, we asked firms for data on recurrent expenditures for the three most recent years (2013, 2014 and 2015) and on non-recurrent expenditures for the most recent five years (2011-2015).

We then calculated simple averages of expenditures as `representative` figures of annual outlays.

23

For each expenditure category, we asked firms to estimate the percentage of the outlay that is made initially within BC. This is a requirement of the methodology because, as noted above, any expenditures made directly on products from other provinces or countries have no further impact on British Columbia’s economy. As an example, a helicat firm purchasing foreign-manufactured ski equipment from a BC distributor represents a provincial expenditure, although the eventual economic impact will be restricted to wholesale and retail margins. If the firm places the order directly with a foreign or out-ofprovince supplier, however, this represents a leakage from the BC economy.

The survey was distributed to all 41 helicat operators in the province, including those not members of Helicat Canada. It was sent by e-mail on September 21, 2015 with an accompanying letter from Helicat Canada’s Executive Director, requesting a return no later than October 23, 2015. The communication stated that a Helicat Canada employee was available to assist in completion of survey as requested.

The submission rate at October 23, 2015 was lower than expected, with many operations needing more time and better timing. So, with subsequent communications with operators, new deadlines were established and extended to build upon the submission rate. The final date returned surveys were accepted was January 29, 2016.

In the end, 14 helicopter ski firms and 8 snowcat ski firms responded with usable data. Table 1 compares the number of skier days reported in the returned surveys to independent estimates of the figures from Helicat Canada billing history. Helicopter skiing firms responding to the survey accounted for 81% of skier days on average over the three year period while responding snowcat firms accounted for 60%. Overall, the returns account for 75% of industry skier days.

The economic impact analysis discussed in what follows was conducted using only data from responding firms.

The obvious implication is that the economic impacts we report in the next section understate actual impacts. We return to this point below.

•

24

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 1 SKIER DAYS FROM SURVEY RETURNS COMPARED TO HELICAT CANADA ESTIMATES HELICOPTER

SNOWCAT

TOTAL

Average skier days from industry survey

55,390

18,214

73,604

Average skier days from Helicat Canada billing records

67,986

30,208

98,194

81.5

60.3

75.0

Percent reported of Helicat Canada total

ECONOMIC IMPACTS Table 2 provides additional information on the number of skiers and the number of skier days as reported in the survey returns. Helicopter ski firms reported an average of 18,587 skiers with each visit on average lasting 2.98 days. The corresponding figures for snowcat operations are 5,993 skiers and 3.04 days per skier. Helicopter operations account for three-quarters of the number of skiers and for a slightly higher percentage of skier days.

â&#x20AC;¢

TABLE 2 SKIERS AND SKIER DAYS FROM SURVEY RETURNS FOR HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING 2013

2014

2015

AVERAGE

Skiers

18,709

19,102

17,949

18,587

Skier days

55,343

57,639

53,189

55,390

2.96

3.02

2.96

2.98

Skiers

5,839

6,582

5,558

5,993

Skier days

17,234

20,391

17,017

18,214

2.95

3.10

3.06

3.04

Skiers

24,548

25,684

23,507

24,579

Skier days

72,577

78,030

70,206

73,604

2.96

3.04

2.99

2.99

Helicopter

Skier days/skier Snowcat

Skier days/skier Total

Skier days/skier

25

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

TABLE 3 ANNUAL REVENUE FROM SURVEY RETURNS FOR THE BC HELICAT INDUSTRY 2013

2014

2015

AVERAGE

95,130,130

103,050,690

102,481,695

100,220,838

55,343

57,639

53,189

55,390

1,719

1,788

1,927

1,809

16,626,231

17,855,371

15,383,570

16,621,724

17,234

20,391

17,017

18,214

965

876

904

913

111,756,361

120,906,061

117,865,265

116,842,562

72,577

78,030

70,206

73,604

1,540

1,549

1,679

1,587

Helicopter Revenue Skier days Revenue/skier day Snowcat Revenue Skier days Revenue/skier day Total Revenue Skier days Revenue/skier day

Table 3 shows revenue received from providing these skier days. Helicopter firms generated an average of $100.2 million annually over the three years, representing $1,809 per skier day. Snowcat firms generated $16.6 million on average over the same three year period, representing $913 per skier day.

We submitted revenue data and representative annual expenditures by specific category to BC Statistics. The format chosen and the expenditure categories included were arrived at through consultation with BC Statistics personnel. The agency then ran the data through the BC input-output model and prepared a report on the economic impacts of the helicat expenditures. We report the results of their calculations in what follows.

â&#x20AC;¢

26

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 4 ALLOCATION OF INDUSTRY EXPENDITURES FROM SURVEY RETURNS Total expenditure (equals total revenue) Less amount spent outside BC

$16.5m

Equals expenditures within BC

$100.3m

Less imports from other countries

$7.9m

Less imports from other provinces

$12.6m

Less other leakages Equals expenditures (including labour and profits) in BC Less wages and operating surplus Less taxes on products and factors of production Equals goods and services produced by BC suppliers

â&#x20AC;˘

$116.8m

$0.1m $79.7m $50.2m $2.0m $27.5m

Table 4 provides an overview of the expenditure flows as reported in the survey returns. Average annual expenditures equal $116.8 million. Firms reported spending $16.5 million outside BC (i.e. contracting directly with out-of-province suppliers and workers), which represents a leakage from the perspective of economic impact analysis. The remainder, $100.3 million, represents average annual expenditures made within the province (i.e. contracting directly with in-province suppliers and workers).

This latter amount kick starts the cumulative spending process. Table 4, derived by applying the BC input-output model to the expenditure data reported in survey returns, shows that $7.9 million of the orders placed with BC suppliers was on products produced in other countries (e.g. skis ordered from a BC supplier but manufactured in Europe) and $12.6 million was on products produced in other provinces (e.g. Ontario wine ordered from a BC supplier). A further estimated $0.1 million came from products withdrawn from inventories, where production would be accounted for in a previous period. The purchase of inputs produced in BC, including wages and salaries and profits, thus amounts to $79.7 million.

Of this amount, $50.2 million represents returns to labour and to profits. Another $2.0 million went to governments in the form of taxes on products and factors of production, and is treated as another leakage as the input-output model ignores any effects on government spending that the incremental taxation revenue might induce. The remainder, $27.5 million, represents the incremental spending on goods and services produced in BC (e.g. BC wine ordered from a BC supplier).

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

27

The multiplier process kicks in at this point. BC-based suppliers must increase production to meet the $27.5 million of incremental demand for their goods and services. Call this a first-round supplier effect. To do so, they place orders with their suppliers. Some of these orders will be for products produced in BC, in which case there is a further round of incremental output. Call these subsequent-round supplier effects. Some of the orders, however, will be for products produced in other countries or in other provinces or drawn out of inventory, in which case there is no further impact in BC. As noted above, the sum of first-round and subsequent-round supplier responses is known as the indirect effect.

There is a further multiplier effect as some portion of the incomes generated in the helicat industry are spent on consumer goods and services. If these products are produced locally (e.g. housing, restaurants) their expenditures represent income to local residents and there will be a subsequent round of spending. This is the induced effect discussed above. If they are spent on products produced outside BC (e.g. French wine) or are saved, they are leakages and there is no further impact. The same points hold for wages, salaries and profits generated in the supplier industries.

TABLE 5 ECONOMIC IMPACT: OUTPUT EFFECTS Total direct output

$100.3

Change in first-round supplier industries

$27.5m

Change in subsequent-round supplier industries

$13.0m

Induced effect Total change in output Multiplier (changes in total output per dollar of helicat output)

150.5M

$

$9.7m $150.5m 1.5

Table 5 shows the impacts on output. Total direct output is $100.3 million as noted above. This spending induces first-round supplier industries to increase their output by $27.5 million as noted already in Table 4. This response by first-round suppliers induces a further $13.0 million increase in output further back in the supply chain. The total indirect increase in output from the initial expenditure by the helicat sector is $40.5 million. Spending from the income generated in the helicat industry and in the supplier industries generates a further increase in output of $9.7 million. The total spread effects are thus $50.2 million and the total output effect is $150.5 million. The multiplier is equal to 1.5; one dollar of helicat output results in an increase of $1.50 in total BC output.

â&#x20AC;˘

28

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 6 ECONOMIC IMPACT: GDP EFFECTS GDP in helicat industry

$51.1m

Change in first-round supplier industries

$11.3m

Change in subsequent-round supplier industries

$5.9m

Induced effect

$6.0m

Total impact

74.3M

$

$74.3m

Multiplier effect

0.74

Table 6 shows the effect of helicat activity on provincial GDP. Recall that GDP is a preferable indicator of economic impact in that it avoids issues of double counting. The table shows that the helicat sector generates GDP of $51.1 million, consisting mainly of wages, salaries and profits. The adjustments by supplier industries in first and subsequent rounds produce a further increase in GDP of $17.2 million while incremental GDP from induced spending totals $6.0 million. The total increase in GDP is thus $74.3 million. The multiplier is 0.74; each dollar of spending by the helicat industry increases GDP in BC by 74 cents. Overall, the helicat sector as represented in the survey returns is responsible for adding $74.3 million to provincial GDP annually.

â&#x20AC;˘

TABLE 7 NATURE OF HELICAT EMPLOYMENT HELICOPTER

SNOWCAT

TOTAL

227

30

257

14

10

24

Seasonal, full-time

623

181

804

Seasonal, part-time

109

121

230

Total

973

342

1315

Year-round, full-time Year-round, part-time

Table 7 shows that the helicat sector has a complex mix of employee types due to the seasonal nature of its operations. Compared to most other industries, it has relatively fewer year-round, full-time workers. Those in that category are mainly executives and administrative personnel working in marketing, lodge maintenance and the like. Year- round, part-time staff consist mainly of accountants and IT personnel. Helicat operations are typically not large enough to support full-time workers in these positions.

The largest category of employees is seasonal, full-time. Ski guides are the most obvious example of workers that fit this moniker. Lodge employees and bus drivers are others. They work full-time during the season but have other pursuits in the off-season. The industry also employs relatively large numbers of seasonal, part-time employees.

Some ski guides fit this profile but the main examples are food and beverage staff and massage therapists.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

29

TABLE 8 ECONOMIC IMPACT: NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES (HEADCOUNT) Number of employees in helicat industry

1,314

Change in first-round industry suppliers

140

Change in subsequent-round industry suppliers

71

Induced effect

59

Total impact Multiplier effect (jobs per $m)

1,584

1,584 15.8

Table 8 shows the employment impacts of helicat activity. The industry survey returns reported a headcount of 1,314 employees. Linkages from the helicat industry into other sectors generated an increase of employment of 140 in first-round suppliers and 71 in subsequent-round supplier industries for a total of 211. There were an additional 59 employees engaged in meeting consumer demands. The total number of employees is thus 1,584. The multiplier effect, defined as jobs per million dollars of direct expenditure, is 15.8.

â&#x20AC;¢

TABLE 9 ECONOMIC IMPACT: NUMBER OF FTE EMPLOYEES Number of FTE employees in helicat industry

728

Change in first-round industry suppliers

133

Change in subsequent-round industry suppliers

69

Induced effect

55

Total impact Multiplier effect (FTE jobs per $m)

985 9.8

985

30

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

Kyle Hamilton

â&#x20AC;˘

Table 8 shows the equivalent information for FTE employment. A full-time worker is generally defined as someone who works 50 weeks per year at 35 hours per week (1,750 hours per year). Unfortunately, firms were unable to provide us with this level of detail of employees.

Instead, they grouped employees according to the categories in Table 7. We converted the figures in Table 7 into an FTE figure by assigning the following arbitrary weights to each category: Year round, full-time

1.0

Year round, part-time

0.5

Seasonal, full-time

0.5

Seasonal, part-time

0.25

This weighting is admittedly arbitrary, but it is based on insider knowledge of the industry and the typical employment contracts of the various types of employees. It is important to note that BC Statistics uses the conventional definition of FTE when calculating spread effects.

Our calculated FTE employment in the helicat sector is 728. Helicat expenditures result in an additional 202 FTE employees in first-round and subsequent-round supplier industries and 55 in sectors that provide consumer goods and services (the induced effect). The total FTE employment supported by the helicat sector is thus 985. The multiplier, defined as FTE jobs per million dollars, is 9.8.

Household income, equal to payments to labour, is another indicator of interest. Household income in the helicat industry averaged $27.3 million for the three years represented in the data. This figure amounts to an average of $20,761 per helicat headcount employee and of $37,500 per helicat FTE employee.

Table 10 shows that helicat activity generates an increase in household income in supplier industries equal to $11.3 million and in induced effects of $4.4 million. The total incremental effect is $15.6 million which represents a multiplier effect of 0.57. For each dollar of household income in the helicat sector there is a further nearly 60 cents generated in related sectors.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

31

TABLE 10 ECONOMIC IMPACT: HOUSEHOLD INCOME Helicat sector

$27.3m

Change in first-round suppliers

$7.4m

Change in subsequent-round supplier industries

$3.9m

Total induced effect

$4.4m

Total impact Multiplier effect

43.0M

$

$43.0m 0.43

TABLE 11 ECONOMIC IMPACT: TAX REVENUE Helicat sector

$8.9m

Change in first-round supplier industries

$3.0m

Change in subsequent-round industry suppliers

$1.3m

Induced effect

$1.1m

Total tax revenue

14.2M

$

$14.2m

Economic impact analyses frequently report estimated tax revenue generated by the sector in question. These numbers can be derived from the input-output model using known taxation rates for the various types of taxes.

Table 11 shows that the helicat industry itself generates $8.9 million in taxes to the several layers of government.

The wages, salaries and profits generated in supplier and induced effect industries produce a further $5.4 million.

Thus the total taxation revenue to governments is $14.2 million. Table 12 shows the distribution of this revenue among governments. The federal government receives the largest share at 54.2%, followed by the province at 37.3%. Local governments receive the remaining 7.7%.

â&#x20AC;˘

32

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 12 DISTRIBUTION OF TAXATION REVENUE AMOUNT

PERCENT

$14.2m

100

Helicat

$5.1m

36.0

Indirect and Induced

$2.6m

18.1

Total

$7.7m

54.1

Helicat

$3.2m

22.8

Indirect and induced

$2.1m

14.8

Total

$5.3m

37.6

Helicat

$0.6m

3.8

Indirect and induced

$0.6m

4.5

Total

$1.2m

8.3

Total Federal

14.2M

$

Provincial

â&#x20AC;¢

Local

The results reported thus far pertain solely to the economic impacts of helicat activity on the BC economy overall.

It is also interesting to see which supplier industries are mostly affected by helicat activity. This is a question easily addressed by the BC input-output model.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

33

TABLE 13 OUTPUT IMPACTS IN TOP FIVE SUPPLIER INDUSTRIES Total, indirect and induced

$50.2m

Transportation and warehousing

$17.4m

Finance, insurance, real estate and rental & leasing

$8.9m

Manufacturing

$3.8m

Accommodation and food services

$2.9m

Retail trade

$2.0m

Top five industries as a % of total indirect and induced impact

69.8%

Table 13 shows the output impacts in the five top supplier industries. Not surprisingly perhaps, transportation is the main linked sector, accounting for over one third of the linked output effects. Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing are second, followed by manufacturing, accommodation and food services and retail trade. The five top supplier industries together account for 70% of the total derived output effect.

â&#x20AC;˘

TABLE 14 GDP IMPACTS IN TOP FIVE SUPPLIER INDUSTRIES Total, indirect and induced

23.3

Finance, insurance, real estate and rental & leasing

6.0

Transportation and warehousing

5.9

Accommodation and food services

1.7

Retail trade

1.3

Manufacturing

1.1

Top five industries as a % of total indirect and induced impact

68.6%

Table 14 shows the same information for GDP effects. Here the top industry supplier is finance, insurance, real estate and rental and leasing at 26% followed closely by transportation and warehousing. The five industries in this group account for 69% of the total GDP effect.

34

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 15 EMPLOYMENT (HEADCOUNT) IMPACTS IN TOP FIVE SUPPLIER INDUSTRIES Total, indirect and induced Transportation and warehousing

69

Accommodation and food services

40

Retail trade

27

Finance, insurance, real estate and rental & leasing

23

Other Services

18

Top five industries as a % of total indirect and induced impact

â&#x20AC;˘

270

65.1%

TABLE 16 EMPLOYMENT FTE IMPACTS IN TOP FIVE SUPPLIER INDUSTRIES Total, indirect and induced

257

Transportation and warehousing

66

Accommodation and food services

38

Retail trade

24

Finance, insurance, real estate and rental & leasing

22

Other services

17

Top five industries as a % of total indirect and induced impact

64.9%

Tables 15 and 16 show the same information for headcount employment effects and FTE employment effects. In both cases, transportation and warehousing are the dominant sectors, accounting for one-quarter of the total employment effect. The remainder of the list consists of familiar industries: accommodation and food services; retail trade; finance, insurance, real estate and rental and leasing and other services. The top five suppliers account for two-thirds of the total effect in each case.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

35

â&#x20AC;¢

Maylies Lang

36

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

SURVEYED IMPACT 100.3M

$

Helicat expenditure in BC

150.5M

$

Total output

DISCUSSION The data presented in the preceding section demonstrate clearly that the helicat sector makes a significant contribution to the BC economy. This impact occurs directly as firms purchase goods and services, hire workers, and generate profits. It also occurs indirectly as these initial expenditures in turn cycle through the BC economy. First-round suppliers meet the demands of the helicat sector by placing orders with their own suppliers, prompting in turn responses by subsequent-round suppliers. Incomes earned in the helicat sector and in supplier industries are spent in part on consumer products, generating further rounds of ripple effects.

The empirical magnitudes of these effects are impressive. A representative year of economic activity by firms that responded to the survey produces for the BC economy: $150.5 million of total output $74.3 million of GDP

73.3M

$

â&#x20AC;˘

of GDP

1,584 jobs 985 FTE jobs $43 million in household income

1,584

$14.2 million in tax revenue

Employment (head count)

The direct economic effects accrue mainly to the host regions, but the linkage effects spread to the rest of the BC economy. Thus the entire province has an important stake in helicat activities even though few residents will ever experience or even observe them directly.

985 Employment (FTE)

43M

$

in Household Income

14.2M

$

in Tax Revenue

It is worth repeating a point made earlier in this section. The helicat sector is a true export industry in that the great majority of its clientele are from other provinces and other countries. Thus, unlike other more domestically-oriented sectors, there is little or no displacement effect of other BC activities. Those coming to ski in BC are not foregoing other BC-produced goods and services.

Any displacement that does occur happens in their province or country of origin.

This situation stands in contrast to many other economic impact studies where displacement is a real possibility and must be accounted for in the analysis.

It is important to note that these are very conservative estimates of the economic impact of the sector. The first reason for believing that the economic impacts shown are very conservative is that we know that reported non-recurrent expenditures are significantly less than actual ones. For confidentiality reasons, the expenditure data some firms submitted do not

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

appear to include several large construction and renovation projects that occurred in the period 2011-2015. This omission is significant from an economic impact perspective as these projects rely mainly on local suppliers and workers and thus have relatively large multiplier effects.

The second reason for the understatement is that the calculations are based on expenditure data from firms that completed and returned the survey instrument. Thus the data submitted to BC Statistics do not represent actual industry expenditures on intermediate and labour inputs. We noted above that we received completed returns from 22 firms (14 helicopter and 8 snowcat) out of a total of 41 firms operating in the industry. The response rate differed between sectors, however. Table 1 showed that helicopter firms that responded to the survey accounted for 81.5% of independently estimated total skier days, while snowcat firms that responded accounted for 60.3% of independently estimated days.

It is possible to provide a rough indication of the economic impacts that would have been evident had all firms responded to the survey. The calculations underlying this calculation are shown in Table 17. We know from earlier data that helicopter skiing firms are structurally different than snowcat skiing firms from both revenue and cost perspectives. Thus we separate them in the table.

Assuming however that non-responding helicopter skiing firms do not differ structurally from responding ones, and likewise for snowcat skiing firms, the calculations follow.

The helicopter skiing firms that responded to the survey accounted for 81.5% of independently-estimated skier days and reported average annual revenue of $100 million. Assuming non-responding firms are similar to reporting ones, the extrapolated revenue (and hence total outlays including profits) equals $122.9 million. Snowcat skiing firms that responded to the survey accounted for 60.3% of independently-estimated skier days and reported average annual revenue of $16.6 million. Again assuming that non-responding snowcat firms are structurally similar to responding ones, extrapolated revenue is $27.5 million. Total extrapolated revenue is $150.4 million compared to the reported $116.8 million.

That is, reported revenue (and hence total expenditures including profit) is 77.7% of what the value would have been had all firms responded to the survey.

37

ESTIMATED IMPACT 128.6M

$

Helicat expenditure in BC

192.9M

$

Output

95.3M

$

of GDP

2,031 Employment (head count)

1,263 Employment (FTE)

55.1M

$

in Household Income

18.2M

$

in Tax Revenue

â&#x20AC;˘

38

SECTION 3 ECONOMIC IMPACT

TABLE 17 ACTUAL AND EXTRAPOLATED AVERAGE ANNUAL REVENUE FOR THE HELICAT INDUSTRY Helicopter Reported revenue

$100.2m

Percent reported skier days of Helicat Canada figure

81.5%

Extrapolated revenue

$122.9m

Snowcat Reported revenue for snowcat skiing

$16.6m

Percent reported skier days of Helicat Canada figure

60.3%

Extrapolated revenue

$27.5m

Total Reported revenue

â&#x20AC;¢

$116.8m

Extrapolated revenue

$150.4m

Reported revenue as percent of extrapolated revenue

77.7%

Extrapolation Factor

1.29

TABLE 18 EXTRAPOLATING TO ECONOMIC IMPACT RESULTS BASED ON SURVEY RESULTS

EXTRAPOLATED RESULTS

Helicat expenditure in BC

$100.3m

$128.6m

Output Impact

$150.5m

$192.9m

$74.3m

$95.3m

1,584

2,031

Employment (FTE) Impact

985

1,263

Household Income Impact

$43m

$55.1m

$14.2m

$18.2m

GDP Impact Employment (head count) Impact

Tax Revenue Impact

BASED ON

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Table 18 shows the results of applying this extrapolation figure to the economic impact data. Total expenditures in BC are now nearly $129 million, producing an overall increase in provincial output of $193 million. The contribution to provincial GDP is now over $95 million.

The sector provides employment directly and indirectly to over 2,000 people, equivalent to 1,263 FTE positions.

The household income emanating from the sector is nearly $55 million and the revenue it provides for government is over $18 million.

39

Finally, some differences in the results may reflect real changes that have occurred in the helicat industry since 2002. One obvious shift is that the snowcat sector is much more significant today than it was at the turn of the century. Snowcat activity accounted for just 6% of total skier days in 1995 and just 12% in 2001 when the Harley study was completed. Its share increased dramatically thereafter, rising to a peak of 30% in 2002 before declining slightly to its current figure of 25%.

We know from information presented earlier in this section that helicopter and snowcat skiing differ in Helicat Canada sponsored an earlier study on the socioresidences of clientele, pricing, average number of skier economic benefits of helicopter and snowcat skiing in days per skier, and in the types of workers employed.

BC.2 A quick glance at this study reveals that it presents It would be interesting to examine how, if at all, greater multiplier effects than those we report above. this structural change in the The differences are particularly industry affected linkages and notable for employment and economic impacts. taxation impacts.

IN SUM, THE HELICAT SECTOR MAKES AN IMPRESSIVE In sum, the helicat sector makes The studies are sufficiently CONTRIBUTION TO THE BC ECONOMY an impressive contribution different that it is impossible to OVERALL. BUT ITS REAL IMPACT IS to the BC economy overall. make meaningful comparisons.

ON THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THE But its real impact is on the First, the 2002 study uses OPERATIONS ARE LOCATED. communities in which the what it describes as a Demand operations are located. By the Economic Impact Model very nature of the activity, these are located in remote, (DEIM) to estimate the economic effects of helicat rural areas of the province. In many cases, there is little expenditures. The model is proprietary, however, and alternative economic opportunity in these locations. no explanation is given as to how it operates. Suffice Input-output tables do not exist at the sub-provincial it to say that the multipliers reported in this study are level, however, so we cannot provide quantitative of similar to those published for comparable sectors by BC the economic impacts. Even if they did exist, however, Statistics.3 the contributions of helicat firms in these communities extend well beyond simple economic factors.

The second key difference is that the studies deal with non-recurrent spending differently. The 2002 study These connections and contributions are well worth treats recurrent and non-recurrent expenditures identifying and evaluating. To this end, we turned to a separately and calculates economic impacts for each. qualitative approach to economic and social impacts.

We chose to construct a representative annual outlay on capital and other expenditures and presented just one set of calculations.

2

Brent Harley and Associates. Socio-economic benefits of helicopter and cat skiing in British Columbia. Web. July 20, 2016.

3

See Garry Horne 2004 British Columbia Provincial Economic Multipliers and How to Use Them. BC Statistics (March, 2008).

<www.helicat.org/s/HeliCat-Canada-Socio-Economic-Impact-Study-2002.pdf>

â&#x20AC;˘

40

SECTION 4 SOCIAL IMPACT

04

SOCIAL IMPACT

•

Every business can be measured by its financial success. Financially, the helicat sector is a valuable contributor to the communities in which it operates and to British Columbia as a whole. However, a solely economic perspective overlooks the multitude of social impacts that are made by an industry. Particularly in smaller economic centres, the social impacts of an operation are part of a larger picture and cannot be accurately represented simply through economic analyses. Removing a large economic contribution within a community would not only change its local economy, but also its character. Viewed wholly as the social impact, the helicat sector has a diverse collection of influences on the communities in which it operates that are difficult to measure and impossible to represent numerically with any degree of accuracy.

The aim of this section is to compile the social impacts as expressed by the sector and community stakeholders, and to present a narrative which highlights and discusses the more qualitative contributions of the helicat sector to the provincial landscape.

LITER ATURE REVIEW A 2002 study by Brent Harley and Associates represents the only work done in recent history to measure and study the social impact of the helicat sector in British Columbia.1 The work consisted of a survey distributed to operators and a separate survey of some community residents. Both surveys were designed to identify the “broad changes (positively or negatively) in the social and economic lifestyles of community organizations and residents that are perceived to have occurred as a result of the industry.”

The results of the operators’ survey revealed that the operators believed their primary social impact was positively contributing to the vitality of BC’s rural communities. It was also determined that the

1

operations were a positive source of skill development for local residents and made a positive contribution to the variety of goods and services in small communities.

Residents estimated the level of change in their community due to the presence of helicat operations to be between limited and moderate, but the areas of highest impact were the revenue generated for the communities, the local jobs created and the investment and development spending in the area. Overall, many of the community respondents were ambivalent about how they felt regarding most changes, but in general the social changes in local communities were believed to be moderately positive. In contrast, respondents were less enthusiastic about changes such as an increase in disputes between locals and visitors and the creation of land use conflicts between industries and the public.

Responses to the operators’ survey and community respondents’ survey were compared and there were no significant differences found in the overall average response of the two groups with respect to perceived social changes introduced by the helicat sector. A strong positive correlation existed in the relative impact rankings assigned by each group.

Overall, the study found there was a favourable economic impact to small and medium rural communities in British Columbia in terms of jobs, community revenue and the expansion of income generating possibilities. Operators felt that their businesses had contributed to an increased social life and vitality within their communities and residents believed that the contributions of the sector to winter tourism in their communities was very strong.

Residents were most positive about the economic contributions of the sector and mostly positive about social contributions, considering the potential for disputes between visitors and residents, land use conflicts, safety and security concerns and a diminishing

Brent Harley and Associates. Socio-economic benefits of helicopter and cat skiing in British Columbia. Web. July 20, 2016. <www.helicat.org/s/HeliCat-Canada-Socio-Economic-Impact-Study-2002.pdf>

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

41

ABOUT THOUGHT EXCHANGE quality of the local natural environments. Both groups expressed an interest in addressing these concerns.

In this first study, participants provided side notes and feedback expressing different opinions and additional information. This indicated a need for participants to be able to express points that were not included in the questions set forth in the survey. The open-answer format of the questions in the current survey are intended to address this need.

This survey provided valuable insight into the more intangible impacts of helicopter and snowcat skiing. The survey design was based on a standardized list of questions where the respondents rated each impact on a scale of 1 to 5.

While this yielded a wealth of statistical data, the survey’s weakness lies in the inability of participants to voice specific concerns to the project and the data in their own words. As the measures were determined by the researchers, it is difficult to assess whether or not there were additional social impacts that were not outlined in the survey but which merit consideration.

PROCEDURE The social impact data for this study were collected by opening up a survey to industry stakeholders via an email list containing all HeliCat Canada members, stakeholders and contacts. From here, participants and operators were encouraged to spread the public survey through their social media and communication channels.

To measure the social impact of an industry through a survey, it is important to gather the thoughts of all stakeholder groups and present these thoughts with a comparative weight. While traditional survey methods are effective in gathering these thoughts, they often rely on the repetition of comments between different respondents to apply weight to specific topics. In order to reduce the potential for redundant comments, we used Thoughtexchange, a third party social survey application, to gather the data. The Thoughtexchange platform is a two step process where respondents are first asked to respond to four open-ended questions. When all respondents have had their say, Thoughtexchange redistributes a sample of thoughts responding to each question by email and asks the participants to assign stars to highlight the importance of other people’s thoughts to them. As a result, the data collected change. This process allows participants to assign importance to factors they did not think of in the first step of the survey, and later shape their responses while considering the perspectives of others.

Thoughtexchange creates good online conversations with large groups of people. Rather than simply surveying people, the platform lets you ask open ended questions in a way that lets everyone say all they need to say. It allows participants who are most affected by an issue to share their thoughts in a meaningful way, and increase the legitimacy of the outcome. Participants can then prioritize the thoughts of other stakeholders by assigning stars to ideas that resonate. Starred thoughts help determine the group’s sense of priority and concern, which enables us to produce a clear discussion that aligns with those views.

Read more – www.thoughtexchange.com

•

42

SECTION 4 SOCIAL IMPACT

The survey consisted of four questions:

What do you appreciate about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

What are your concerns about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

Please tell us a short story of an experience you have had (or are aware of) that makes you proud of the helicat sector in British Columbia.

Is there anything else you would like to say about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

â&#x20AC;˘

While typical survey methods present predetermined questions that require structured answers, qualitative results are best gathered through open-ended questions and respondent-driven answers. By allowing the community being surveyed to direct the responses they give, the most important stories, topics and impacts arise from the data collected as recurring themes. The recurrences in the data serve as their own evidence for importance and collectively build the narrative that will serve as the results of the social impact section. This tool will build from Brent Harleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2002 study which aimed to measure the extent, preference level and significance of each topic, in a results rich, qualitative format that is constructed from the evaluation of the population.

Once the thoughts were collected and participants had assigned their stars, Thoughtexchange analysts processed the data and presented common themes.

These themes were then sorted by both the number of people that assigned stars and the number of stars that were assigned to the themed group of thoughts as a whole. Through this process, an objective collection of the most popular themes for each thought was produced. This collection provides a detailed outline of the most important and talked about themes as represented by the whole population.

RESULTS 2 The Thoughtexchange survey was open for participants from September through November, 2015. The original invitation to participate was distributed to a list of 473 email addresses - the entire email address list associated with HeliCat Canada. The participation link was also shared on social media and industry operators were encouraged to share it within their networks of suppliers, staff members and guests. In total, 168 people participated in the survey, contributing a total of 640 thoughts and assigning 13,450 stars to highlight importance.

Participation consisted of 25% management or leadership, 17% helicat business owners, 16% other, 15% service providers to the helicat sector, 8% engaged citizens and 2% helicat clients. Divided by location, participants were 42% from Kootenay/ Boundary, 12% South Coast, 10% West Coast, 8% Thompson-Okanagan, 7% Cariboo, 7% Skeena, 3% Omineca-Northeast and 12% other locations.

Participants were also asked to rate how satisfied they were with the helicat sector as a whole.

The results of the survey were sorted in terms of the number of stars assigned to create each theme. This allowed for particularly passionate items supported by fewer people to be highlighted more strongly in the results. However, within the data, the number of stars assigned correlated with the number of people who assigned stars to the item, indicating the population shared many of the same thoughts and there were not particular items made more important by isolated, passionate groups.

What do you appreciate about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

What participants appreciated most about the helicat sector was its promotion of tourism in British Columbia.

18% of the total stars were assigned to responses which highlighted that the products provided by helicat operations are not only world-class experiences, but they are also unique to British Columbia: the adventure and life changing experience emblematic of the Supernatural British Columbia marketing campaign by Destination BC3.

2

In addition to the discussion listed here, full results of the survey can be viewed at http://helicat.thoughtexchange.info

3

Destination British Columbia. Winter activities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Heli-skiing and cat-skiing. Web. July 20, 2016. <http://www.hellobc.com/british-columbia/things-to-do/winter-activities/heli-skiing-cat-skiing.aspx>

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

“The world comes to BC. They travel far and invest significant time and money to be here and they keep coming back. It is a very special experience.”

BY THE NUMBERS

With 17% of assigned stars, the second most appreciated theme was the commerce and employment opportunities provided by the helicat sector. In many rural areas, there are few other winter tourism opportunities. Heli and cat ski operators attract revenue for their own businesses as well as tourists who support other areas of the communities’ commerce.

25%

“I appreciate the fact that the helicat industry has brought commerce to remote communities. This includes the local businesses as well as providing work for Ski Guides and tourism business operators.”

In addition to supporting commerce, the operators create local employment that helps sustain a small town, rural lifestyle for their staff.

Participants felt strongly about the helicat sector’s ability to provide a unique experience through their skiing products (13%). There is a uniqueness about the British Columbian combination of ideal terrain, high quality snow, and the possibilities of remote, untouched wilderness that is otherwise challenging to access.

“Access to the wilderness. The remote areas in which the heli skiing and cat skiing industries operate are beautiful, and you have an opportunity to experience this remoteness like very few other adventures allow.”

12% of stars were assigned to thoughts representing the industry environment and level of professionalism. The helicat sector has a high level of success in meeting and exceeding standards set to direct the organization of the sector.

Outstanding professionalism and the development of best practices make British Columbia’s operations industry leaders worldwide.

Safety as a theme attracted 12% of assigned stars. The industry as a whole takes safety very seriously and adheres to high standards, setting an example for other similar industries worldwide. The sector is a major contributor to the InfoEx database which shares snow observations and promotes the advancement of safety in the entire community.

“The lessons learned in the sector have lead to the development of best practices that benefit all mountain travel enthusiasts in Canada and world-wide.”

Drawing 8% of the assigned stars was the theme of a collaborative and unified industry. The helicat sector is a cohesive body that acts together on matters of operational safety and customer satisfaction. It achieves strength in this unity and stands a better chance of being heard at the policy level. Collaboration allows for a unified voice before government and when resolving conflicts with other industries.

43

Participation of management leadership

17% Participation of helicat business owners

15% Participation of service providers

8% Participation of engaged clients

2% Participation of helicat clients

•

44

SECTION 4 SOCIAL IMPACT

The theme of customer experience and demographics drew the attention of 4% of the stars assigned.

Participants appreciate the sector’s ability to bring clients into the remote areas in which they operate and share their passions for the mountains. The experience of backcountry skiing, for many people, is a dream that is otherwise inaccessible.

of the future for operations. Concerns about the future are framed with the need to adapt the sector and make the changes needed to maintain sustainable operations.

In the wake of a winter of poor operations in 2015, these questions are at the forefront. Planning for the future in the face of climate change was the main concern voiced by the participants.

“It is very rewarding to be able to take people, from all over the world into the mountains and be a part o them having a great, memorable, and fun experience in pats of the world that relatively few get to explore.

Even on the ‘bad’ days most guests finish the day with a smile on their face.”

The next highest theme of concern for the participants, assigned 20% of the stars, was the concern over land usage and tenure. The security of the helicat sector is based upon the ability to use tenured land for operations. Participants are concerned about policies regarding tenure use, overlap and renewal and the level of security that is provided to their businesses. It seems that each year the ability to renew tenure applications is more complicated and puts increased stress on operations. While maintaining tenure was important to the whole group, the participants were divided about the perception of the need for exclusive access versus their willingness to cooperate with users for shared access in terms of how to best provide security for the future operations.

The lifestyle that the helicat sector provides is one of importance, as participants assigned 3% of their stars to thoughts within this theme. Most prominent in the theme is a love for the jobs the industry provides. The ability to live in the mountains doing a job they love and provide a stable life for themselves and their family is appreciated in this theme.

•

Drawing 2% of the assigned stars was the appreciation for learning and research. The helicat sector is highly committed to avalanche research in Canada as the largest non-government supporter of studies and educational programs related to snow science and safety. They collaborate to invest in initiatives that benefit both sector membership and the larger communities in which they operate.

The remaining 10% of stars were assigned to areas of general feedback and themes holding less than 1% of the stars.

What are your concerns about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

Participants were asked to voice their concerns about the helicat sector in British Columbia. The main concern highlighted by 25% of participants’ assigned stars is regarding sustainability and climate change. Changes in climate and the effects on snow and weather are of major concern, particularly questions about the unpredictability

“The single most concerning thing to me is the solidity or security of the land tenures that helicat members rely on. It seems we have gone through a transition from where the tenure held more strength to where it does not now.”

Currently, the issue of Crown land use for commercial operations is included in British Columbia’s tourism strategy as something that has improved over the past two decades. The strategy document acknowledges that there are issues regarding the timeliness of land use decisions.

The group showed concern for the environmental impact of the helicat sector by assigning 15% of stars to this theme. As is the nature of an industry that relies on mechanized transportation, the consumption of fossil fuels is a concern in terms of sustainability and climate change. In an industry based on luxury tourism, the justification of this use is a concern. Concerns extend to the impact on wildlife habitat as well. However, the

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

industry is concerned about maintaining adherence to regulations and reducing their impact in areas of the business wherever possible.

“It appears that most every part of the province has one or more of these challenges before them. Continuing being proactive and steering these issues toward a direction for win/win scenarios will continue to help us as an industry.”

45

Safety is a concern valued by the participants with the assignment of 4% of the stars. While safety as a whole is valued, the concerns voiced by participants focus on the maintenance of safety practices throughout the industry and with new entrants. Maintaining a balance of risk and safety with a high standard of care is a concern, as the sector provides backcountry activities that have a higher inherent risk than other activities.

Reporting accidents, learning from mistakes and tracking the safety record of the industry is important.

With 10% of the stars being assigned to the theme of sharing with snowmobilers, concerns regarding Drawing 4% of the assigned stars is the concern for overlapping land use conflicts that have arisen through the industry environment and level of professionalism. snowmobiling are important to the group. With recent The unification of the industry and its ability to offer developments in snowmobile technology there are a consistent, clear and unbiased positions and guidance greater number of recreational snowmobile users able on behalf of the membership is to access the same backcountry important to participants. For terrain used by the helicat all certifications, operations industry. With more people in “[WHAT CONCERNS ME IS] LAND and associations to combine the tenure, the safety of the TENURE SECURIT Y AND HAVING and provide equal opportunity operations and the recreational CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT THAT to operations of all sizes is a users can be jeopardized, as well OUR INVESTMENT IN ADVENTURE challenge that is important to be as the quality of the product TOURISM IS SECURE.” addressed moving forward. that can be offered. While public access to a given tenure has a Also drawing 4% of the assigned stars is the concern significant impact on business operations, the right to about the economic viability and industry image of the a specific ski area is not exclusive and cannot be denied helicat sector. The cost of heli and cat skiing has risen to recreationalists. There is concern going forward of dramatically over the years. As a luxury travel option, it how to best cooperate with recreational users and is something that is not accessible to everyone and has a preserve the business operations as backcountry reputation as being for only the more affluent population. recreation continues to grow.

As any luxury, the potential for industry volatility based on the world economy is a concern for the population.

Government policy and regulation as the overarching determinants of the use of tenured land for operations in British Columbia is an important concern of the group, Misperceptions about commerce and employment opportunities in the communities in which there are with 9% of the stars in the survey being assigned to this operations is a concern assigned 3% of the stars. It topic. There is a perceived uncertainty in government is often perceived as an elitist sport in a community policy that threatens the security of the industry. that cannot afford it, however the economic benefits The level of bureaucracy involved and the lack of operations bring into the community are overlooked. accountability is challenging business operations by creating pressure and insecurities within the industry.

The remaining 5% of stars were assigned to areas of general feedback and themes holding less than 1% of “[What concerns me is] land tenure security and having the total stars. confidence in Government that our investment in adventure tourism is secure.”

•

46

SECTION 4 SOCIAL IMPACT

TABLE 1 APPRECIATIONS IMPORTANCE OF THEMES BY STAR ASSIGNMENTS

â&#x20AC;˘

HELICAT OWNERS, MANAGERS AND STAFF

COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND OTHER

Commerce and employment opportunities

17%

16%

Promote tourism in BC

15%

24%

Provide unique experience

13%

12%

Industry environment and level of professionalism

12%

11%

Safety

12%

10%

A collaborative and unified industry

8%

8%

Customer experience and demographics

4%

5%

General feedback

4%

5%

Lifestyle

4%

2%

Learning and research

3%

1%

Environment: heliskiing and catskiing impact

2%

0%

Community involvement

1%

1%

Environment: sustainability and climate change

1%

1%

Workplace satisfaction

1%

2%

Land usage and tenure

1%

0%

Government policy and regulation

1%

0%

Although the survey participants consisted of 58% helicat industry employed individuals (management, leadership, business owner or staff), 42% of the participants were unrelated individuals as defined by the demographic categories (other, service provider, engaged citizens, clients). Despite the differences in demographic, the importance ratings of the categories (calculated by number of stars assigned to each) did not differ greatly between the two groups.

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

47

TABLE 2 CONCERNS IMPORTANCE OF THEMES BY STAR ASSIGNMENTS HELICAT OWNERS, MANAGERS AND STAFF

COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND OTHER

Environment: sustainability and climate change

26%

21%

Land usage and tenure

19%

24%

Environment: heliskiing and catskiing impact

14%

18%

Government policy and regulation

10%

8%

Sharing with other groups: snowmobiling

9%

10%

A collaborative and unified industry

4%

1%

Economic viability and industry image

4%

3%

Industry environment and level of professionalism

4%

3%

Safety

4%

5%

Commerce and employment opportunities

2%

2%

General feedback

1%

2%

Customer experience and demographics

1%

1%

Workplace satisfaction

1%

1%

Promote tourism in BC

1%

0%

Community involvement

0%

0%

Provide unique experience

0%

0%

â&#x20AC;¢

48

SECTION 4 SOCIAL IMPACT

Please tell us a short story of an experience you have had (or are aware of) that makes you proud of the helicat sector in British Columbia.

•

meet people or see the presence of these operators in these towns. We are key community members; this makes me proud.”

When asked to share a story of an experience with the helicat sector, participants were given the opportunity to assign stars to those stories that were most important to them. The stories were not sorted into themes, so as the stars were assigned, the most valued individual stories in the group emerged from a total of 117 stories submitted.

“Providing rewarding careers. The sector has provided opportunities for many to make a career of their passion and to share it with like-minded individuals from all walks of life and corners of the globe.”

The whole list of stories can be read on our website, but the following are stories that were assigned the most stars by the participants.4

The fourth question of the survey was meant to be an area in which participants could express thoughts they were not able to express in the first three survey questions. The responses fell into similar themes as the first two questions, however 20% of the stars were assigned to general feedback. This theme contained much praise for the industry and its passionate people, rich history and dedicated staff. The theme also looks forward, recognizing the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead and the strong, healthy industry that exists.

“When a backcountry emergency arises, the Heli and Cat operators are there. Probably all Heli and Cat ski operators have responded to an emergency in their area, whether by heli, snow cat, snowmobile, ski or foot. The professional expertise and unselfishness our operators show when assisting in what are often terrible situations is amazing and makes me very proud.”

“One story or experience, not sure I can. A theme though: Best Day Ever. When a guest looks you in the eye and with complete sincerity tells you they just had the best day of their life, that is a proud moment.”

“Sharing of Infoex data for Public Avalanche Forecasts. Logical and cost-effective way to multipurpose data for the benefit of many.”

“Avalanche research and education. The helicat skiing industry in British Columbia has funded avalanche research and education that has benefited people outside of the skiing industry, including backcountry skiers and snowmobilers.”

“Competitors but partners. We are all competitors but when it comes to times of trouble the show of camaraderie and pride in what we do is awe inspiring.”

“Small community – Often when I go to the small towns where heli and cat skiing businesses operate you either

4

Thoughtexchange full results. <http://helicat.thoughtexchange.info/>

Is there anything else you would like to say about the helicat sector in British Columbia?

With 16% of stars allocated to thoughts under the industry environment and level of professionalism theme, people felt this was a topic worth mentioning.

The main area of concern was continuing to increase professionalism and grow as an industry to benefit safety, unification and collaboration. The management of standards and principles moving forward is of importance to participants and they were generally positive and optimistic in terms of the progress of the industry.

Government policy and regulation drew 12% of the star assignments. This theme was highlighted by the need for greater recognition of the helicat and other tourism sectors at the government level. It is important to highlight the contributions the industry makes to government in order to gain some recognition moving forward.

The role of the industry in commerce and employment opportunities is something that was important for participants as it was assigned 7% of the stars. The sector is a growing part of the economy of small towns and provides opportunities for employment directly and

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

through increased commerce in the communities. The careers that have been created through the industry are much appreciated.

6% of stars were assigned to the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to promote tourism in British Columbia. Participants highlighted that the helicat sector offers a world class product that should be leveraged for tourism as the exceptional experience that it is. It is an iconic experience that is valuable to its participants.

The remaining 38% of stars were dispersed over the remaining themes and topics, but these categories had few comments. Those comments that did exist were generally vague, rather than presenting or supporting new or important themes.

CONCLUSION The Thoughtexchange platform provided a third party data analysis perspective that allowed the comments of interested stakeholders to be reviewed by the entire community. The process and the results it provided are less like a typical survey scenario and more representative of a discussion group taking place amongst the entire population.

There are many advantages to this type of analysis over more traditional methods. The first of these is the benefit of open ended questions. There are no leading questions that direct population responses and thoughts. People are required to create their own thoughts about the industry and are asked to do so in both positive and negative directions. The result are the thoughts that actually come to mind, not responses to predetermined questions.

Secondary to this, the ability to view others' responses and weigh in on their importance encourages depth to these thoughts. Instead of tallying the most common thoughts, the starred importance ratings allow the thoughts that hold the most collective agreement to be rated as the most important.

49

Also a benefit of this process is the third party data analysis. Thoughtexchange is a third party with no connections to the helicat sector. All of the data analysis and results presentation is done by their staff and independently from the overall goals of the larger socioeconomic impact assessment. The data are a true look into the thoughts of the population and how they think as a group about the industry.

As an area for improvement, the process drew a relatively small sample size of 168 participants. It is challenging to elicit participation in a voluntary survey, however in the future it would be beneficial to enlist more aggressive social media marketing of the survey and call for assistance from the networks of the helicat industry and tourism groups.

Overall, the Thoughtexchange process provides a unique set of results that allows the population to give a realistic and self-directed overview of the social impact of the helicat industry on the province and on their lives. It would be beneficial to perform the survey on a larger scale to gain validity and access more opinions and perspectives that are held by a wider population.

â&#x20AC;˘

50

SECTION 5 CONCLUSION

05

CONCLUSION

The British Columbia government’s economic development strategy, the BC Jobs Plan introduced in 2011, identifies tourism as one of the eight sectors deemed to be key to the province’s future economic well-being.1 In addition to its economic impacts on the provincial economy, tourism is seen as providing a “face” for BC and is the means whereby the province’s social, cultural, and environmental values are promoted internationally.

•

The helicat industry aligns perfectly with this tourism vision. The sector can truly claim to be world class; there is no other place on the globe that rivals British Columbia in the provision of helicopter and snowcat skiing. The combination of ideal natural conditions and dynamic and client-focused operators make the province a popular destination for backcountry skiing.

The contributions of the industry to the tourism strategy and to the province’s economic and social well-being are not widely known or appreciated, however. This study is a key initiative by Helicat Canada that highlights the profile of the helicat industry with governments, businesses, and community groups in the province.

FOCUSED RUR AL IMPACT By the nature of the product offered, helicopter and snowcat skiing operations are centralized in the rural areas of British Columbia; where there is expansive mountainous terrain and natural resources, there is an abundance of snow and the most desirable skiing.

This character of the industry benefits the province by concentrating tourism in these difficult to access areas. As a result, the nearby rural communities benefit directly from the helicat operators, through their expenditures, employment opportunities, and international marketing. Although beyond the scope of this study, it would be worthwhile to weight the impacts of the industry on the communities closest to where they operate. This would allow an understanding

of the true importance of this industry on these rural regions, where economies are typically limited to resource extraction vagaries.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BR AND OF BRITISH COLUMBIA The brand of British Columbia highlights images and experiences from the helicat sector in all of their campaigns. It is one of the priority tourism products in British Columbia’s tourism strategy plan. This, combined with the sector’s impact being focused on rural regions of the province, makes the product offered by the sector a key component in their five-year plan.2 The provincial marketing often depicts imagery provided by industry operators to tout the province’s untouched, mountain terrain and to demonstrate the snow quality that is also a perception of lift skiing operations around the province. Helicopter and cat skiing is recognized by marketing as a mainstay of the province’s adventure tourism base, but the challenges that are faced by the industry are less publicized by the province. While difficult to quantify and beyond the scope of this study, the contribution of the sector in the form of media, international exposure and brand value, would be a worthwhile measure in determining the contribution the industry makes to the tourism brand of British Columbia.

L AND USE ISSUES Land use is of great concern for the helicat sector as its operations depend on the availability of crown land suitable for high quality skiing. While overall, helicat skiing is a sustainable practice with minimal impact on the actual land and forest below the snowpack, there are several issues that allow tenure security to threaten its future. Forestry operations can have detrimental effects on ski tenures when large areas are clear cut. Some efforts have been recognized by the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce to preserve the tourism value of these old growth forests, but

BC Jobs Plan. Gaining the edge: A five-year strategy for tourism in British Columbia 2012-2016. Web. July 20, 2016.

1

<http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/tourismstrategy/documents/mjti_tourismstrategyreport_fnl.pdf> BC Jobs Plan. Gaining the edge: A five-year strategy for tourism in British Columbia 2012-2016.

2

A SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF HELICOPTER AND SNOWCAT SKIING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

this preservation has not occurred in widespread areas.3 First Nations groups are increasingly able to negotiate agreements that give them land ownership rights to a portion of crown land, creating uncertainty for the industry. While there are examples of strong partnerships between the helicat industry and First Nations there is room for improvement between the various groups. The government is not currently facilitating these discussions as effectively as they could, which increases uncertainty and downstream threats faced by these largely rural business operations.

PUBLIC SAFET Y The helicat sector donates a vast amount of data and expertise for use in public avalanche safety through daily contributions to an information exchange tool called the InfoEx. While operators use this tool to share information within the industry and within other industries affected by avalanches, the data that is provided is a mainstay when public forecasters collaborate to produce public avalanche bulletins used by the general public. During the period of the study, several attempts were made to access data that would provide insight into the dollar value of the contribution the helicat industry makes to the InfoEx, and public backcountry safety in general.

However, this collection remained outside of the scope of our constraints. A useful metric to quantify this contribution would be the value of its replacement cost to the public avalanche forecasting system in BC, as the sector provides a significant value of data to the public at no cost. In addition to the contribution of information, the public also benefits through the skilled guiding staff, stocked rescue gear and available helicopters to provide expedited search and rescue operations in the areas surrounding their operations. While direct costs (e.g. helicopter flight time expense) are reimbursed by the province, many expenses are not. Wages for expert guides to act as first responders and loss of business (operations often have to refund guests for days interrupted by response to a public call for assistance)

51

are examples of where their impacts can be significant to these businesses when called to assist the public. The accessibility of trained, professional mountain guides and the operational resources these business bring to public search and rescue is not currently given a dollar value.

The helicat sector offers many areas of positive impact on the province that are not currently measured.

However, when combining the measured economic effects with the social impact findings and the story of the industry as told by the operators themselves, it is clear that the industry has an important and focused impact on the vitality and character of the province.

Despite its demonstrated value to the province and the collaborative approach taken by HeliCat Canada, the industry continues to face many challenges when working with the provincial government over their central issues. The industry aligns with many of the tourism missions provided by the province and takes care to form lasting, working relationships with its stakeholders. They are concerned with meeting and exceeding local and provincial regulations and guidelines in terms of environmental stewardship and aim to cooperate with other user groups in sharing their collective land base.

While there are challenges, the helicat sector is a strong group of entrepreneurs not driven solely by the potential for financial gain, but built on a foundation of engagement in the actual operations of their businesses and the value they bring to their communities.

According to the collection of stories from the stakeholders, the helicat sector feeds a passionate group of people an experience they return for year after year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether a guest or a staff member. There is no doubt, based on results, that the sector continues to make a lasting impact to the economy of British Columbia, the social environment in which it operates and the clients that are out there skiing.

http://www.bcchamber.org/sites/default/files/FORESTS%20-%20PROTECTING%20OLD%20GROWTH%20RAINFOREST%20TO%20THE%20

3

ECONOMIC%20BENEFIT%20OF%20TOURISM-BASED%20COMMUNITIES%20(2016).pdf

â&#x20AC;˘

52

•

PO Box 968 Revelstoke BC V0E 2S0 Canada | info@helicat.org | 250.837.5770