Barrie businesses that rely on visitors to the area to take advantage of our typically ample amounts of snow are feeling a significant financial pinch, and the losses could be well into the millions of dollars.
Tourism Barrie executive director Kathleen Trainor says the local economy has been "significantly impacted" due to the absence of snow and visitors coming to the area for outdoor winter activities, such as skiing, ice fishing and snowmobiling.
"Barrie is a winter destination and the lack of snow has devastated the local tourism industry," Trainor told BarrieToday.
That's especially true around the Christmas break.
"During the holiday season, ski resorts and outdoor outfitters generate most of their revenue and depend on natural snowfall," she said. "Despite their efforts to make artificial snow, the ski resorts still require sub-zero temperatures to maintain the snow on the ground."
On average, Trainor says about 1,670 people stay in a Barrie hotel each day.
"During the holiday season, overnight visitors to the region's estimated economic impact is around $3 million," she said. "However, due to the lack of snow, the economic impact losses to the regional visitor economy, which includes the ski resorts and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, would be over $10 million.
Barrie Snowmobile Club president Brian McGuire remains hopeful for a positive season on the local trails.
“When it’s wet and soggy but then the temperatures drop, that actually creates a much better base layer because the ground freezes stiffer," he said. "The ice on lakes and low-lying areas is a nice smooth layer. Once we get snow on top of that, it actually traps the cold.
“It’s actually not terrible we’ve had a soggy start (to winter) as long as the temperature drops before we get a big heap of snow," McGuire added.
