Fewer campers in Jasper

A summer of record oil prices, a strong Canadian dollar and a slowing world economy are creating a “perfect storm” that’s putting a dent in Canada’s tourism market this summer, industry officials say. 

Canada’s three major tourist destinations — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — all reported noticeable declines in visitors in July,  and Jasper National Park was touched as well.

Parks Canada reported this week that campground stays during July were down by 3,535 from the same time last year – a drop of 8.2 per cent – and 2,560 fewer than the total to date for last year, a decline of 3.6 per cent.

Estimates for summer visits won’t be available until September, but the most recent data shows that attendance in all mountain parks was down during April and May, said Sean Nardella, a media relations officer with Parks Canada in Jasper.

“In Jasper, April was down by a few thousand, in May, just a few hundred,” Nardella said.

Figures released earlier this summer by Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation show that between January and April, the number of direct U.S. visitors to Alberta this year was down 14 per cent from the same period of 2007

Industry officials and Jasper merchants and tourism operators lay the decline off on a variety of influences: cool, damp weather, high gas prices, the high Canadian dollar, American passport regulations, a slowing economy, an election year in the U.S. and the Olympics.

Most noticeable by their absence are Americans who make Jasper a stop on their journeys to and from Alaska. Visits from Europe and South America are on the rise, but have not filled the void left by the Americans.

Todd Noble of Jasper Tramway and president-elect of Jasper Chamber of Commerce said that in a normal year, regional customers from Alberta and British Columbia account for about 35 per cent of the passengers at Jasper Tramway.

“This season, half our customers are regional,” he said. “We’re seeing lower numbers overall, and part of that has maybe boosted the prominence of regional traffic.” 

Tour business is slightly down, “but nothing alarming. The weather this year hasn’t been in our favour.”  Last year was a record year, the best in six seasons, so operators aren’t alarmed that the pace for this year is somewhat off, Noble said.

“It’s nothing that couldn’t be made up in a few days,” said Noble, who is looking ahead to the Jasper Heritage Rodeo and the Labour Day weekend to top off the summer season.

Noble has observed that this year, more motor home renters have been from the United Kingdom or Europe, where fuel costs twice as much as here, and have pockets full of powerful Euros, which trades around $1.60 against North American currencies.

“With the U.S. travellers, gas prices are a factor, and in an election year, Americans tend to stick closer to home,” he said.

After 25 years in business, Mike Merilovich of On-Line Sport and Tackle isn’t worried by the downturn for one season.

“It’s a different crowd this year; lots of local traffic, lots of Europeans and not many Americans,” he said.

This is an election year in the U.S. and “typically, that will drop American traffic by 20 or 30 per cent, and it’s the Olympics – that takes away a lot of international traffic. The dollar and the price of gas are definitely keeping Americans away. To Europeans, that’s nothing.”

Greg Klassen, vice-president of marketing for the Canadian Tourism Commission, said there is no doubt high gas prices have had an impact on both air and car travel.

The latest Statistics Canada numbers on travellers are from May 2008 and show that in the first five months of the year, nearly one million fewer visitors entered the country compared to 2007.

In May alone, nearly 200,000 fewer tourists entered the country compared to the same month in 2007, a drop of seven per cent.

By contrast, more Canadians are choosing a vacation abroad.

Between January and May, nearly 2.5 million more Canadians left the country than did during the same period in 2007, a jump of almost 13 per cent.

A strong dollar means more Canadians leaving, and not enough tourists — mainly Americans — are arriving, said Mr. Klassen.

“Our travel deficit is ballooning,” he said. “It’s a huge concern.”