Sea to Sky Gondola between Vancouver and Whistler, is increasingly becoming a community hub for locals and tourists.Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
When you first step inside Summit Lodge, it feels like a large neighbourhood coffee shop, with people tapping on laptops and a low hum of conversation. Yet, the venue sits 885 metres above the ground, with panoramic views of the mountains and the town of Squamish, B.C., below.
The 835-square-metre lodge, at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola between Vancouver and Whistler, is increasingly becoming a community hub. Locals ride up for a quiet place to work or meet friends before heading out on the trails. That deep local connection has helped sustain the attraction even as visits from U.S. travellers have dropped significantly since the pandemic.
“Fifty per cent of the pass holders we have are from the area and that’s always been a point of pride for us,” Kirby Brown, gondola general manager, says of the attraction that lures roughly half a million visitors a year.
“There’s no question U.S. visitation and volume has dropped across the province, and I think everybody can kind of point their finger at the reason for that,” he says.
By the numbers
U.S. overnight entries to B.C. are down 1.4 per cent so far this year, as of September, according to Destination B.C. The biggest year-over-year drop was 24.7 per cent in January, followed by 9.6 per cent in May and 8.2 per cent in April. The number of U.S.-resident trips to Canada fell for a seventh consecutive month in August, Statistics Canada numbers show, down 1.4 per cent from the same month in 2024.
According to Destination B.C., the province’s tourism sector continues to draw on a mix of domestic and international visitors, with Canadians usually making up about 75 per cent of overnight stays and international travellers accounting for the rest. However, international guests spend more than twice as much on their trips, which makes their return especially important.
From January to September 2025, more than four million international visitors arrived in B.C., with especially strong growth from Asia (China up 26.5 per cent; Japan up 16.8 per cent; and South Korea up 16.4 per cent year-over-year), which helped compensate for any decrease in U.S. travel. Travel by Canadians was down earlier in the year, likely due to economic pressures, but those who did travel tended to book higher value trips that boosted hotel revenue and visitor spending.
To help boost demand, Destination B.C. has expanded its global marketing efforts and invested in markets with strong potential such as Mexico, Germany, the U.K., China and Australia, where it has local representatives and targeted media campaigns.
Getting more creative to stay relevant
Resilience is part of the fabric at Sea to Sky Gondola. After two major acts of vandalism in 2019 and 2020, where the gondola cables were cut, the team rebuilt quickly and deepened its community focus.
“All we heard from the community was we’re here for you. Please get back up and running,” Mr. Brown says. “What sounds like resiliency was simple determination, that this is what we want to do.”
Since the pandemic, Mr. Brown says the team has had to get more creative to stay relevant.
“It’s been really just digging in and making sure that… the programming is attractive and that people are enjoying it,” he says.
He points to the organization’s “Baby and Me” program, a weekly drop-in hiking and snowshoe program for parents, caregivers and their babies. Mr. Brown says the program, led by a pre- and postnatal fitness expert, creates space for “evolved conversation while you’re being social, getting some exercise and understanding that you’re not alone in the haywire nature of having young kids.”
There’s also the gondola’s “Spirit of the Season” program, which runs from late November to late December, transforming the summit into a winter wonderland with decorated forest walks, Santa photos, storytelling sessions, and fireside hot chocolate.
After two major acts of vandalism in 2019 and 2020, where the gondola cables were cut, the Sea to Sky Gondola team rebuilt quickly and deepened its community focus.Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
More B.C. attractions are following suit
Across B.C., many successful attractions are leaning into more community-oriented initiatives. At Capilano Suspension Bridge, there are community-focused events such as the spooky Canyon Frights and the festive Canyon Lights display. It also offers the B.C. Residents Annual Pass, which turns a single ticket into year-round access, giving locals an incentive to return. The Vancouver Aquarium hosts several “Fish and Sips” nights and other networking events throughout the year, giving locals after-hours, kid-free access to the exhibits along with cocktails and member perks.
For Walt Judas, the outgoing chief executive officer of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C., Sea to Sky Gondola shows how to adapt when the visitor mix shifts.
“They created it in such a way that it was open for alternate uses. It’s not just bringing people to the top for a view. It’s actually being able to use that venue as a multi-purpose venue,” he says.
Weddings, corporate events and Christmas parties have grown alongside traditional sightseeing, which even includes an option for hikers to climb the intense Sea to Summit trail and ride the gondola back down.
“It really works for those people who just love the outdoors and see the gondola as just yet one more attraction or appeal to visit Squamish in the immediate area,” Mr. Judas says, adding that the gondola also has a wider economic influence along the corridor, drawing visitors who stay in hotels, buy food, book tours and visit other attractions.
“It is a domino effect that one attraction can have on not only the tourism sector but the broader ecotourism economy.”
Other tourism trends causing a shift in priorities
Tourism specialists say the gondola’s strategy mirrors a broader shift across the country.
“I think COVID really made people realize that you couldn’t continuously depend on international travellers,” says Rachel Dodds, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who focuses on sustainable tourism.
She adds that the recent surge in the “buy local” movement, driven by U.S. tariffs and trade penalties, has encouraged Canadians to double down on staycations and visits to places in their own backyards.
Local engagement remains key to long-term stability for many of these Canadian attractions, Prof. Dodds adds, especially places with a significant shoulder season, such as Whistler, B.C. The mountain city now welcomes more visitors in the summer (53 per cent) than in the winter (47 per cent) despite being an internationally renowned ski resort, according to Tourism Whistler.
“These [places] need the resident market and the domestic market,” Prof Dodds says. “It’s something that stabilizes their revenue over the year.”
For Mr. Brown, success is less about revenue and more about growing pass holders and repeat local visits.
“You can either be like a roadside attraction,” he says, “or you can be a meaningful addition to the community that you’re in as an adventure tourism operator.”