Economically, Jasper appears to be in good shape this winter. Record snowfalls attracted tourists by the thousands earlier in the year, and an unusually warm February ensured visitors kept coming. So many tourist communities roll up the streets come Thanksgiving (if they’re lucky), and wait out the winter.

But of course Jasper has the advantage of winter destination, and that should allow many more businesses to flourish.

For example, the Jasper Junior Olympics drew nearly 400 competitors to the hill. One of the largest and longest-running races in North America, children and their families stayed in Jasper hotels, ate in Jasper restaurants and shopped in Jasper stores. Rough estimates have the event bringing at least $500,000 into the local economy. This in turn places money into the pockets of Jasper business owners, who hire plumbers, send their children to day care and use other services. Jasper in January brought in large crowds, and there was nary a hotel room to be found during the Family Day long weekend.

There is a push to expand these visits. 2010 is scaring tourism operators, as the 2009 recession hardly allowed vacationers breathing room to book their trips. However a reliance on quality, sustainable experiences will allow the commercial sector to prosper.

Looking at the lack of real growth in the commercial sector would lead one to believe Jasper is not succeeding.

But Jasper is a different place, with different sets of rules. It is a market many struggle to understand. One only needs to look at the disappearance of McDonald’s, as chain stores struggle. Many speak of this as a point of pride. Jasperites and visitors seek something special in the park, and that is where economic development and marketing initiatives must lie. Let us resist temptation to emulate Banff’s cosmopolitan sense of nature.

Of course there are limits  to these levels of tourism. Jasper National Park is preserved for nature. Beauty, escape, pristine locations – it’s why they left it wild. Too many encroachments, too much human pressure on the natural environment result in a degradation of this resource, and the potential loss of species from the national parks. One wonders how many Jasper eyebrows were raised at the closing ceremonies, where Canadian athletes dawned caribou sweaters to show the world. Both athletes and environmentalists have had to beg for funding in the past. It took the Vancouver Olympic Games bid for athletes to receive attention. It took the disappearance of caribou from Banff National Park for funding to flow from Ottawa for that species. Let’s hope it’s not a case of too little, too late.

But it is the natural environment that allows Jasper to maintain year round destination status. Business operators who understand this, without succumbing to greed are the ones here for the long haul.

Without proper attention and protection, Jasper’s economy and caribou could face a similar fate.