Airport fee to increase in attempt to attract visitors

Thanks to the continuing expansion of the Edmonton International Airport (EIA), Jasper’s visitors and residents alike will hopefully be able to fly directly in and out of Europe more easily while increasing the attractiveness of the airport to international and domestic tourists.

The Airport Improvement Fee (AIF), which currently charges each departing passenger $15 per ticket, will increase to $20 per ticket in September to help with the $1-billion expansion.

For a tourist or resident coming to Jasper, there are a few methods of transport, one being to fly into Edmonton or Calgary before traveling by ground (using either bus, train, car).

If you ask Paul Harding of Sundog tours, Calgary Airport is the preferred option because of the frequency of the international and/or direct flights from Europe, such as London and Frankfurt.

But, after the expansion of the Edmonton International Airport (EIA), which will be complete in 2012, there is hope that more tourists will be arriving via direct flights from London and Frankfurt into Edmonton.

Don Boyton of Travel Alberta said air access is critical given Jasper’s location, calling it a “long haul destination” that targets markets which are at least four hours away or longer.

According to Boyton, direct entry to Alberta through air markets accounts for over 50 per cent of the total visitation to the province. “If people can get here easily,” he said, “they will continue to come.”

The expansion is well overdue for the airport, which is currently functioning at 20 per cent over capacity according to the airport corporation.

Traci Bednard, vice president of communications and passenger experience, said it’s difficult to measure the number of Jasper tourists that would fly into Edmonton over Calgary.

However, Harding suggested that while he transports about 2,500 passengers from Edmonton he would service over 5,000 from Calgary in a year which he puts down to there being more frequent and international flights from hotspots like London and Frankfurt.

According to Harding, co-branding between the EIA and Jasper is a good idea for the tourism industry as it will help link Jasper and Edmonton in people’s minds.

Bednard echoed Harding’s sentiments when she said that “customers are looking for a mixture of urban, rural and adventure travel” adding that it was important the EIA work together with tourism agencies and airline operators to put packages out there that promoted the two as one destination.

With the planned expansion, Bednard is optimistic that the focus on European gateways and the direct flights will help to increase the number of people that are using Edmonton as their destination rather than Calgary.

For Harding, this also means tourists will have more opportunity for open jaw trips where they can fly into Edmonton, travel to Jasper south through to Banff and fly out of Calgary.