James Keller, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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VANCOUVER, B.C. - Canadian ski operators could be in for a tough season this winter as travellers rethink their vacation plans amid growing economic problems in this country and around the world.

Financing and credit troubles have already plagued several resorts, while others are hoping loyal skiers and snowboarders looking to stay close to home will help make up for any drop in visitors from further afield.

Gabor Forgacs, a professor in Ryerson University's tourism program, says it probably won't be a disastrous year, but it will undoubtedly be worse.

"We don't see any huge dangerous drops," like hotels or ski lift operators closing down, says Forgacs.

"But definitely the crowds will be somewhat thinner, and those who come will be a little more careful."

Forgacs says skiers and snowboarders will likely try to save money by "downtrading" - choosing cheaper hotels and opting for fewer frills - and by taking shorter trips that are closer to home.

However, he says people who still have steady incomes and believe their jobs are secure aren't likely to cancel their travel plans outright.

"Yes, people travel - yes, there are people taking vacations," he says. "They may not take the two weeks and they may not stay at a high-end lodge, but they want to ski the same slopes."

There have already been signs the weakening economy is affecting Canadian ski hills.

Intrawest ULC, which owns several sites including B.C.'s Whistler-Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant in Quebec, refinanced a $1.7-billion loan with its parent company in October, just hours before a deadline that could have seen Intrawest's assets sold off.

The Revelstoke Mountain Resort in eastern B.C., which launched last season, has delayed the opening of its new hotel and high-speed gondola until the end of December.

But the Canadian Ski Council remains optimistic.

The council's president, Colin Chedore, acknowledges this season won't be as good as 2007-2008, when there were a record 20 million visits to ski hills across the country - a six per cent increase over the previous year.

But he says operators are hopeful Canadians will still visit their local ski hills, with a lower dollar keeping Canadians at home while encouraging Americans living close to the border to travel north.

"So far, season pass sales and other things that point to a domestic market being very strong are up," says Chedore.

"The dollar's going to be favourable to us - that's good news that we never had last year."

Chedore says facilities in Central and Eastern Canada, where the bulk of business is traditionally from locals, are in a good position to withstand the economic slowdown.

On the other hand, he says British Columbia, where as much as 60 per cent of visitors are from outside the immediate area, is the most vulnerable.

"We could . . . see a decline in B.C.," he says.

At Whistler-Blackcomb, one of the venues for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the resort hopes to entice visitors with a 4.4-kilometre peak-to-peak gondola, scheduled to open Dec. 12.

The 11-minute ride between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains will become a Canadian icon, predicts Stuart Rempel, the resort's vice-president of marketing.

"It'll be an incredible asset for tourism," he says. "It affords . . . 360-degree views of the village, of the mountainside, the range and all of the glaciers in the background. The only people that could see these views in the past were people sightseeing in a helicopter."

The new gondola - the highest in the world at 436 metres above the ground, says Rempel - will be included in the price of lift tickets and will operate year-round.

In Revelstoke, once the new lifts are open, the resort will boast the largest vertical descent - 1,830 metres - in North America.

Several resorts across the country - such as Grouse Mountain in B.C., Mont Saint-Sauveur in Quebec and New Brunswick's Poley Mountain - have installed new chairlifts for this season, while others have added additional runs.

In a pitch to American tourists, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies - a company that owns ski destinations across the country - is advertising direct flights from Utah to serve two B.C. resorts.

Delta Airlines will fly from Salt Lake City to the Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook, B.C., serving the nearby Fernie and Kimberley resorts.

Newfoundland's Marble Mountain, located in the western part of the island near Corner Brook, is another business built on skiers living nearby.

And so far this year, season pass sales have actually been ahead of last season, says spokeswoman Alli Johnston.

"I wouldn't say we're concerned," she says. "So much of our business does come from the local market."

Marble Mountain is also hoping to capitalize on the East Coast Music Awards, which are scheduled in Corner Brook in February.

The lodge will turn into a music venue as part of the five-day event, and the resort has launched a campaign to persuade people who travel to Corner Brook for the awards to stay and ski.