Whistler realtor Pat Kelly figures it will take some time and patience for the resort to reap the financial payoffs of the 2010 Olympics.

Like many business people in the community, he thinks the Winter Games heightened interest in the area, and that the rewards will come.

But for now, thanks to the lingering recession and the high Canadian dollar, there is no post-Games bonanza.

“[The 2010 Olympics] created an increase in interest, but not an increase in active sales,” said Kelly, owner of Whistler Real Estate Company.

“There was no [real estate] boost following the Olympics. In fact, if anything, there was a bit of a slowdown. But the decision to buy a discretionary property takes up to three years. We’re also battling against the recession.”

The higher Canadian dollar is hindering sales, Kelly said, with many Americans expecting sharp markdowns like they’ve seen in the U.S.

“They can’t understand why our prices haven’t fallen by 50 per cent,” he said. “I say, ‘We’re not Arizona.’ ”

While the Canadian Tourism Commission says Canada’s tourism strategy for leveraging the Games has paid off with an increase of nearly 10 per cent in visitors to the country, Whistler hasn’t necessarily seen them.

Overnight visits to Whistler are down from last year and Tourism Whistler is forecasting a three-per-cent drop in room nights this winter compared with last winter. Smaller businesses are also feeling the pinch. But most believe that would have happened anyway and that the real benefits of the Games won’t start showing up until this summer at the earliest.

And there are signs of growth, with Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. announcing in its latest quarterly results this month that revenue rose in all segment categories, with increases in regional skier visits but challenges in attracting destination skiers.

Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed agreed that the Olympic legacies are long-term benefits.

“The global exposure exceeded expectations, and it now remains for us to convert the increased awareness to visits,” he said. “We always knew that the effect would not be immediate. Business results are inconsistent across the sectors; again, this was expected.”

Kelly believes Olympics-related infrastructure — the upgraded Sea to Sky Highway and the cross-country skiing facilities in the Callaghan Valley, for example — will be big draws for Whistler in the coming years.

“And those benefits mean a better place to visit and to consider living full time or retiring to,” said Kelly, who noted there were 465 real estate transactions last year, down from a peak of about 1,100 in 2003.

According to Tourism Whistler, room nights are forecast to decrease three to four per cent year-over-year for the 2010-11 winter season (November-April) compared with winter 2009-10.

However, the decline is largely driven by a sharp drop in room nights this February, compared with the Olympic Games period when February 2010 saw average occupancy levels of 97 per cent.

With February taken out of the equation, Tourism Whistler predicts room nights will rise three per cent.

“We were not anticipating seeing the Olympics’ impact from our long-haul or overseas market for 18 to 24 months [from the end of the Games],” Tourism Whistler president and CEO Barrett Fisher said in an interview. “We expected the benefits to materialize over time.”

She noted that long-haul U.S. visitors are down 15 per cent in November-December compared with the same two months the previous year, and the U.K. and Europe are also down 15 per cent.

However, regional volumes are strong and visitors from Asia-Pacific and Australia are a “bright shining light,” with the number of Australian visitors alone up “in the triple digits.”

Roger Soane, general manager of the 550-room Fairmont Chateau Whistler, said that while he started to see a pick up in hotel guests toward the end of 2010, the general impact of the Olympics has so far been muted.

Soane said that before the recession, his hotel had 80-per-cent occupancy and that now it’s 65 to 70 per cent.

“We expected the destination market to come back stronger than we’re seeing after the Olympics. But two markets we’re missing are the U.K. and the U.S.”

However, he added, new markets like China and India are emerging, with Australian visitors “the biggest one,” and the regional “driving” market remaining strong. He said exchange rates are a factor, with the U.K. pound and the U.S. dollar weakening against the Canadian dollar. “The Australian dollar has strengthened.”

Soane added: “We have fantastic infrastructure, like Callaghan Valley, the sliding centre, the road, and we’re positioned to recover stronger than any other ski destination in the world. I’m confident the [international] guests will come back, but it’s anyone’s guess when they will.”

A recent mid-week visit to Whistler on a cool but very sunny day revealed the resort’s new pay-parking lots virtually empty at about 10 a.m., although the more distant free parking lot was about two-thirds full.

Michael Sinclair, general manager of the clothing shop 49th Parallel, said there’s been a noticeable drop in business compared with 2008 and 2009.

“Other Olympic cities also had a drop within the first year, but we didn’t expect it to be this much. But a lot of eastern Europeans and Australians are travelling here now.”

One visitor to Whistler was 64-year-old Edmonton resident Ed Lind.

“I saw [the Olympics] on TV a year ago and that’s why I’m here,” said Lind, as he donned his gear in the free lot. “My first impression is it’s a first-rate operation. But I was surprised there weren’t that many cars here.”

Mark Adamson and his wife were also up for a day from North Vancouver.

“We’re here to take advantage of the smaller crowds,” said Adamson, who was “disappointed” to see pay parking for visitors on top of lift-ticket increases over the past few years.

Tourism Whistler’s Fisher cautioned that empty mid-week parking lots are not a true reflection of visitor volumes, as the resort is busier on weekends, with many guests having driven or taken a shuttle bus directly to their hotel.

Meanwhile, Whistler Blackcomb’s manager of communications, Tabetha Boot, said Park City, Utah saw significantly higher growth than the ski industry as a whole in the five years after hosting the Games in 2002.

“Whistler Blackcomb isn’t expecting that level of growth as we’re in a different economic climate but we are working to leverage the attention of the world the Games afforded us, matching this increased awareness with compelling packages fostering increased skier visits and, in the long run, becoming the No. 1 mountain resort in the world.”

As well, Whistler is already hosting events that it could not have previously accommodated, including a World Cup event at the new sliding centre in November and the Canadian Youth Luge Championships this month.

Lynn Chappell, Tourism Whistler’s manager of partnerships, promotions and events, said that “anecdotally we know that interest from event producers has increased beginning in the months leading up to the Games and post-Games.”

Meanwhile, Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. announced in its latest quarterly results that it’s on track for two million skier visits this winter season and has set a record with the highest number of season tickets and frequency cards sold before Dec. 31, 2010.

“However, our destination skier visits have not recovered to pre-Olympic levels,” corporation president Dave Brownlie said in a statement.

bmorton@vancouversun.com