Olympic gold medallist skier Ashleigh McIvor handily beat B.C.’s tourism minister Pat Bell in a ski race yesterday.
The contest wasn’t on snowy slopes, however – it was in downtown Toronto, where the two were participating in a motion-sensored video game inside a glass-walled truck.
The stunt was part of a new Tourism B.C. marketing campaign aimed at attracting long-haul vacationers to B.C. ski resorts.
Torontonians passing by were invited to participate, with the winner of each heat presented with a one-day lift ticket to one of B.C.’s 13 ski resorts.
Bell also toured B.C.’s significant presence at the annual Toronto Ski, Snowboard and Travel show where 12 of B.C.’s resorts were represented.
Target markets in this year’s campaign are Ontario, California and Washington state.
The campaign runs through March 2013 and has a $1.55 million budget.
“Building a key economic driver like tourism – which provides jobs for one out of every 15 employees in this province, not to mention adding $13.4 billion in revenue to our economy last year – is part of ensuring jobs for B.C. families,” Bell said.
