ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — As Ellicottville gears up for another winter, they may be forced to do so without the prospect of Canadians coming to town. As the US-Canadian border remains closed, that could mean the loss of a lot of revenue for businesses like Holiday Valley.
"We get a good number of Canadians," Jane Eshbaugh, Director of Marketing for Holiday Valley said. "Based on the exchange rate and things like that they can account for 20% of our visitors."
Both Holiday Valley and Ellicottville are hopeful that people from around Western New York will help to bridge the revenue gap left by the lack of Canadians. It's something they have already started to see.
"We saw such an influx of new customers this summer that I think will help a little bit," Brian McFadden, Executive Director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce said. "Our website saw 75% new visitors this year, normally it's 25%."
That is only helped by an early snowfall getting people excited for ski season. Holiday Valley is eyeing an opening weekend where social distancing could be allowed through tempering lodge attendance and lessening the amount of people on the chairlifts.
"We hope to open for the season on November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving, that's our target at least," Eshbaugh said.
Holiday Valley will announce their opening weekend as it approaches, tickets are suggested to be purchased online at the link here.
