The Whistler Sessions were launched to help the community explore long-term possibilities from 2022 to 2050, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sessions were developed through broad community engagement, including working groups and virtual town halls. Sessions produced four scenario narratives that are not predictions or visions, but rather tools to stimulate collective reflection on Whistler’s economic, environmental, social and cultural trajectories. The goal was to foster shared understanding and resilience by imagining how forces such as climate change, innovation, tourism demand, economic stress could shape Whistler’s future. The narratives invited residents and interest holders to consider what changes might be needed and how they might respond personally, organizationally, or collectively.

While intended to create aspirational thinking, the scenarios largely surfaced community anxieties about uncertain futures rather than a clear sense of shared direction. This introspective lens has nonetheless laid the groundwork for Whistler’s Council Strategic Plan by identifying key areas of vulnerability, capacity, and opportunity. The Sessions helped shift the question from “What will happen?” to “What kind of future do we want to move toward, and how do we get there together?” They continue to inform strategic thinking, not as a roadmap, but as a base for deeper conversations about values, risks, and the long-term resilience of Whistler as a place and a community. 

Much of the work from the Whistler Sessions now lives on through the Smart Tourism Vision and its related initiatives. We highly recommend reading the Whistler Sessions booklet to better understand the roots of our thinking — and to dream with us about the future we want to create together.