It has now been a month and a half since Westjet began once
a week direct flights from Calgary in western Canada to Loreto and I want to
share some impressions of the impact that this new service has had so far. First of all, by all reports from the
numerous passengers I have spoken with, the southbound flights have been
essentially booked to capacity, with few, if any, vacant seats, and from what
else I have heard, the situation is similar for the northbound trips.
That means that each weekly flight of the Westjet 737-700
plane brings about 120 passengers to Loreto, mainly from western Canada, as
compared to the approximate maximum of 500 passengers a week that the current
daily flights Alaska/Horizon is making to Loreto from LAX in the smaller
capacity Bombardier Q400 turboprop they use on this flight. Or in other words, the new Westjet service
has increased air access to Loreto by about 25% in the last month and a half.
It is also worth noting that looking at the average ticket
prices, the Westjet flight in Canadian Dollars is about the same cost from
western Canada as the much shorter Alaska/Horizon trip from Los Angeles, which
is of course calculated in US Dollars, which actually makes this Canadian
flight about 20% cheaper, considering the current exchange rate which has the
Canadian Dollar around 80 cents US. This
price difference has made travelling to Loreto a more attractive option for
Canadians, even if they have to connect through Calgary from elsewhere in the
country. Let alone the fact that, as a direct
flight, it avoids the hassle and expense of travelling from Canada through LAX
to get here and return north again.
While it would be a mistake to assume that all of that
increased number of passengers wind up here in Loreto Bay, I think it is
probably fair to think that a large percentage of them do. Particularly given the fact that Calgary was
one of the best markets for the original Developer during the marketing phase
that started over 10 years ago. And so,
between Homeowners, their friends and families, and a presumably large number
of others in the Calgary market who are familiar with Loreto because of this
development, I would not be surprised if many of these new passengers are
coming to Loreto to stay in Loreto Bay.
Which brings me back to the subject for this week’s
posting. Working from my Real Estate
Office, which is centrally located in the larger Founders Neighborhood of
Loreto Bay, I am in a good place to observe the day to day “street life” of our
Community as people pass by. And, during
the past month and a half since the Westjet flights began, I have seen a
definite increase in the numbers of apparent Visitors. While that may not seem like too significant
a statement to make, it does indicate a trend that I have not seen to the same
extent before, in the almost 7 years I have been working in this business here.
During that period time there has been a growing number of
Visitors and Renters coming to Loreto Bay and they have been a welcome, if
comparatively small, addition to the Resident population. In the past it was relatively easy to pick
out these “new faces” among the many familiar acquaintances, friends and
neighbors that I have come to know over the years, who live here and return to
stay for varying lengths of time.
However, recently I have begun to realize that there appears to be more
of these new arrivals than ever, and so now walking down the Paseo sometimes it
seems there are more new faces than familiar ones.
This trend is further accented by the fact that in the past
several weeks the annual exodus of winter Residents has also begun, as people
who live here for months during the Season start to return to their northern
homes for the summer. So, as the numbers
of Residents starts to decline and our winter Season winds down, the presence
of the Visitors becomes more and more noticeable as they become a larger percentage
of the population of Loreto Bay.
While in my opinion this is a very positive trend and I am
excited by the prospect of a growing 
The change, that I am now seeing at this early stage, could
in time cause Loreto Bay to transition from a Community with Visitors to a
Resort Destination with Residents. Now,
before I am accused of predicting an immanent influx of Vacationers descending
on Loreto Bay and turning it into some kinder, gentler version of Cabo (perish
the thought!) let me be clear – I believe that our Community, and the many
hundreds of Homeowners who live here for part of the year, will not only
survive, but thrive in a future that includes a growing number of Tourists that
will choose to share this special place that we have helped to create here.
After all, originally we were all Visitors here, and those
of us who were willing and able to invest in a dream, either as it was offered
to us by the original Developer during the initial 5 year marketing phase, or
more recently to those who have chosen to join our community over the years
since, we all recognized the special qualities that make this place
unique. And now, as I watch the growing
numbers of these newcomers passing by the doors of my Office on a daily basis,
I realize that we may now be seeing the beginning of yet another Chapter of
“Living Loreto”!
