Air Canada has bumped up its seventh daily Kamloops-Vancouver flight from Jan. 3 to Dec. 20.

Airport manager Fred Legace said scheduling changes like that are driven by demand. Winter skiing is probably the driving force behind the change, he said Thursday.

Christopher Nicolson at Tourism Sun Peaks was surprised to hear about the earlier schedule for the seventh flight, but also said it makes sense that it would happen just before Christmas.

"Christmas time is busy anyways," he said. Reservations at the resort are already ahead of last year.

The ski hill opens Nov. 20. Sun Peaks relies first on local traffic, then skiers from the region and Lower Mainland.

But off the continent, Australians find the ski resort to be a big draw, he said.

"Australia continues to be our largest overseas market," he said.

"They like the convenience of ski in, ski out. And second, the Australians love meeting the locals. . . . They're making friends up here."

The more connections Kamloops has to major airports like Vancouver or Calgary, the easier it is for skiers to get to the mountain," Nicolson said.

"We were pleasantly surprised earlier this year when Air Canada said it was going to add two Vancouver flights," he said.

As for extra traffic generated by last February's Vancouver Olympics, he said it's still too early to tell.

Sun Peaks did benefit from the international event last season, because many people sought out alternate ski hills to avoid Olympic crowds.

"Last year was an opportunity to introduce Sun Peaks to a clientele that hadn't been here before," he said.

"We think we can retain those visitors from last year. We'll know in April."