Alberta’s Tourism Recovery
The Calgary Stampede is going ahead in 2021 which has been a controversial decision as Alberta is still recovering from the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To give some context, the 2019 Stampede brought around 1.275 million attendees - a huge attraction for Calgary and Alberta. Tourism has many spillover benefits which include but are not limited events in local hotels, travel, food services and accommodation sectors. Many of these sectors have experienced an unprecedented decline due to the pandemic and ensuing health restrictions.
Tourism offers a perishable product, something that cannot be saved in a warehouse to be sold at a later date.
Alberta’s tourism sector; like others, has been decimated since the outset of the pandemic as borders closed and people (for the most part) stopped travelling. Excluding Albertans, tourism expenditures in the province for 2019 were $1.6 billion according to Tourism Alberta. Losing such a significant source of revenue has been incredibly challenging. Prior to the pandemic, Tourism was one the leading industries in Alberta employing over 127,000 Albertans. This has obviously declined drastically with revenues that have also plummeted. Rehiring for these roles is posing a hurdle as prolonged periods of layoff has meant that many former employees have moved onto other jobs and industries.
Another major source of income for many hotels are the hosting meetings and conventions. As our world went virtual and gathering limits were in place, they were no longer able to offer this service to their clientele. CBRE projects that in 2020, the hotel industry will have brought in virtually no profits. CBRE also predicts that recovery for the industry will take six to seven years, similar to what occurred post 2008’s financial industry Collapse, 9/11, and the SARS outbreak. Alberta must have a long-term strategy in order to recapture those tourism dollars, ensuring that Alberta is a destination of choice in a post-pandemic world for globetrotters.
This decision to move forward with Stampede; albeit slightly altered to comply with health restrictions, was clearly one meant to demonstrate that the Government of Alberta was taking the concerns of the impacted sectors seriously. One concern that has been vocalized was the inconsistency in rules between retail and events. Throughout the pandemic, people could still go to large stores and malls to shop, but hosted events were off the table due to the potential spread of COVID-19. I am not trying to be critical, merely reiterating a common refrain on the inconsistencies. Balancing these very difficult decisions has clearly been a source of frustration within government and I personally could not imagine how hard a job this has been for any level of government.
Stampede, events, and fairs also directly impact agricultural societies here in Alberta. Agricultural societies provide facilities across the province including community centres along with hockey and curling rinks. If you are from a smaller community, you will recognize how integral these facilities are for their communities, providing space for sports, clubs, and events. The Province of Alberta did amend the funding formula during the pandemic to help keep them afloat but without these events there is still a gap.
As the province moves towards reopening, there will be lots of work to be done to ensure that health and safety is paramount, while providing the basis for a strong economic recovery. There will be hurdles but as more people get vaccinated and become more comfortable with engaging with others outside Albertans will manage.