Biggest drop since 9/11

While anecdotal evidence suggests that Jasper hasn’t been quite as slow as many first predicted, the latest statistics from Stats Canada show that tourism spending across the nation is down by 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2009.

Although 1.3 per cent is not an outrageous number, spending has been slowly falling for the last three quarters which is the first time since 2001 when tourism was hit by the September 11 terrorist attack and the SARS outbreak.

While these numbers demonstrate an overall dip in spending across Canada, the latest statistics from Travel Alberta are a small sign of relief with entries to Alberta from overseas and the U.S. increasing while there was an overall decline for the country as a whole.

Despite a national decline of 9.9 per cent in direct air arrivals (in Canada) by U.S. residents for the first two months of 2009 there was a 4.4 per cent increase for Alberta compared to 2008.

However, overnight direct entries of overseas visitors into Alberta decreased 7.1 per cent while nationally, the decline was just 5.8 per cent when compared with January and February of 2008. 

With fewer international visitors to the country, the spending also dropped by 5.7 per cent for the first quarter of this year. 

Looking at Jasper National Park specifically, the traffic count has declined by 16.1 per cent compared to the same period (first three months) in 2008 which is significantly higher than the 4.9 per cent decline seen at the Banff Park Gate. 

Overall visitation to the park was also down by 9.5 per cent, with just 43,145 visitors heading to Jasper in January 2009 compared with 47,600 in 2008. 

Although marketing campaigns, including the Jasper Tourism and Commerce’s, have been putting an increased focus on the regional market, Canadians spent 0.1 per cent less on tourism in their own country during the first three months of 2009.