Tourism down slightly in Calgary, but there’s reason for optimism

Tourism is down a bit in Calgary.

In 2016, 7.2 million people visited the city, and while that’s nothing to sneeze at, it is a million fewer visitors than in 2015.

However, the industry is optimistic for a bounce-back this year, as Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady says last year’s dip in visitation was due to an erosion in business travel, and in fact, we saw a bit of a bump on the leisure side.

Ady says that trend is expected to continue in 2017, in part due to Canada’s 150th birthday and Calgary’s proximity to Banff National Park.

“Banff is the number one must-see location in Canada this year, with no gate, and their hotels are relatively full. So we’re saying, how about the day trip? Come to Calgary, you’re one hour from Banff, you can come and enjoy all that the city has to offer and still enjoy a beautiful, beautiful park called Banff.”

Ady says the Conference Board of Canada began the year saying we’d see a 2.5 per cent increase in tourism, that’s now been bumped to 3 per cent, with social media stats suggesting Canada is at the top of most must-see place rankings.

In 2016, tourism accounted for $1.6 billion in visitor spending.

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