Alberta tourism sector sees gradual gains compared to pandemic 2020
Preliminary estimates from the government of Alberta Tourism Market Monitor show visitors are slowly returning to the province and travel is gradually resuming.
The province releases the tourism market monitor monthly to update statistics related to the accommodations, service, and tourism sector.
The amount of air passengers arriving and departing from the province’s largest airports has increased by 159.7 per cent year-over-year.
Attendance at Banff and Jasper National Parks increased compared to last year’s figures throughout the summer months.
As of September, more than 3.2 million visitors went through the park gates in Banff while more than 1.9 million visited Jasper, representing a nearly 28 per cent and 27 per cent change from last year, respectively.
Hotel occupancy rates, excluding resorts, have increased every month this year, starting at 19.9 per cent in January – a 20.1 per cent drop from 2020. The latest figure available, from August, showed the hotel occupancy rate Alberta-wide at 58.9 per cent – a gain of 7.9 per cent from 2020.
The average daily room rates have also increased by $109.96, year to date.
As of September, 333,410 reservations at Alberta Parks have been made.
According to the province, the tourism industry unemployment rate is at 5.8 per cent. Unemployment for the sector peaked at 29.7 per cent in May 2020, and according to Travel Alberta, was more than double the average unemployment rate for all industries in the province combined.
At the start of this year, the unemployment rate for the tourism sector was at 22.6 per cent.
The tourism market monitor said the total projected food service and drinking places receipts, based on the latest numbers from July, were up 24.5 per cent year-over-year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.