EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, January 21, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Travel search site Skyscanner has seen a huge rise in flight searches to Vancouver in the run up to this year's games.
With the Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games coming up in February (12th-28th 2010), cheap flights search engine Skyscanner reports a 71% increase in flight searches to Vancouver compared to this time last year.
Vancouver itself is a ski city, with three ski areas within the city limits: Grouse, Seymour and Cypress Mountains. Those looking for more can make the two hour journey to Whistler Blackcomb, which is consistently rated as one of the best ski resorts in the world. With over 3000 acres of terrain, and an average snowfall of over 10m per year, Whistler is a very worthy host.
Hosting the Olympics is a big boost to any city; investment in new infrastructure, lift systems and hotels, plus global publicity means that host cities can expect to remain high on skiers' lists for a long time, as the Olympic legacy lasts for many years.
The Winter Olympics will next be seen in Sochi, Russia; which remains fairly uncharted territory for the average non-Russian skier, but Sochi's hosting of the Winter Olympics in 2014 will change all of that.
Skyscanner Travel Editor, Sam Baldwin adds: "The Olympics are always a big draw for tourists, we saw flights to Sydney shoot up for their Summer Olympics in 2004 and I expect flights to London in 2012 to be no different. This will be a real boost to Vancouver's economy especially as we come out of this global recession."
Searches for flights to the Canadian city in February were particularly elevated compared to February 2009 with an increase of 81% in total.
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Since Skyscanner was founded in 2002, our mission has been to create the first website in the world to show every single commercial flight on earth - hence our slogan - never miss a flight
By comparing hundreds of airlines and thousands of routes, we make it easy for you never to miss a flight deal. With over 600 different carriers and 670,000 different routes listed, we're getting closer to this goal every day.
PR Contact:
Sam Baldwin
Skyscanner Ltd
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Edinburgh
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www.skyscanner.net
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