Vancouver and Whistler’s loss could be Sun Peaks Resort’s gain.

With Olympic events expected to cause major delays and headaches for skiers around the Lower Mainland’s local mountains and in Whistler, Interior ski resorts are bracing for a brisk season.

Up at Sun Peaks, it’s no different.

Christopher Nicolson, president of Tourism Sun Peaks, predicts the Olympics will be a boon to the resort.

He said the resort’s research is suggesting a third of the skiers from Vancouver are looking to hit the slopes at some place other than the local mountains.

That adds up to a lot of opportunity to market the resort.

“That’s a huge opportunity for places like Kamloops and Sun Peaks to pick up business and, more importantly, for us to introduce Sun Peaks to a new skier,” Nicolson said.

That aversion from Vancouver may also be playing out internationally.

So far this season, Nicolson noted bookings from overseas markets like Australia and Germany are ahead of last year.

To cash in and get a leg up on the competition from other Interior ski hills, Sun Peaks is marketing itself as an alternative to Whistler to the international market.

Locally, it is focusing on the proximity of the resort to the Lower Mainland and the value Sun Peaks offers.

But the benefit may last long after 2010.

Nicolson suggested the Olympics will also profile skiing in B.C.

“The better Whistler does, the better the other resorts do,” he said.

Though the coastal ski resort may draw the crowds initially, Nicolson pointed out many of the people who regularly vacation at Sun Peaks are ex-Whistler skiers.

Speculation turns into reality when the resort opens for the ski season on Nov. 21.