BACK in February, members of the Mt Buller Chamber of Commerce, Buller Ski Lifts senior team, and Mansfield Shire Council CEO Kirsten Alexander swapped the summer heat for a study tour of ski areas on the east coast of the USA and Canada.
In a packed 10-day program, the group visited resorts like Mt Tremblant, Killington, and Stowe and took a tour behind the scenes of Burton HQ.
The objective of the tour was to build relationships and bring back ideas to improve guest experience, transport, ski area operations, and community collaboration.
“It’s important to look at what we can learn from other resorts as well as get perspective on what we do well,” explained Buller Ski Lifts General Manager Noel Landry.
“We chose resorts close to major urban centres to see how they address peak visitor flows and some low-altitude resorts who share similar snowmaking challenges to us.
"It was pleasing to see that we are steps ahead in snow management than some of our counterparts.
"In other areas such as day centres and visitor amenities, there were a lot of ideas we’d love to emulate in our village."
“I was struck by how the mountain resorts in Canada and Vermont and their neighbouring local governments worked together," said Mansfield Shire Council CEO Kirsten Alexander.
"There were great examples of joint projects shared by their chamber and mountain operations to solve common challenges, such as transport.
"I came home with ideas on public outdoor spaces, warming zones, and signage that I’d love to implement in Mansfield and see in the Mt Buller village.
“In comparison to the places we visited, it was good to see that Mt Buller and Mansfield is world-class, not only in our snowmaking and management which is second to none, but also our unique village character and the strong community on the mountain and in our Shire.”
The tour included a broad mix of Chamber members across businesses, including retail, real estate, hospitality, accommodation, ski school, BSL operations, and Disabled Winter Sports.
The next study tour is planned in February 2026 to Italy, where in addition to getting further ideas to improve guest experience in and around the resort, the group will take time to cheer on the Winter Olympians.
