Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Jasper National Park attracted over 1.6 million independent visitors last year, a decrease of about 25 per cent from 2019.
The park’s annual report, which was released April 8, stated that the partial closure of visitor operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in either low or no counts during March, April and May.
June, July, August and December all experienced decreases in visitation from the previous year, while September visitation remained the same.
January, February, October and November experienced slight increases over 2019.
Parks Canada did not factor in group tours due to the significant drop in them last year.
If group tours are factored in, visitation dropped by 32 per cent in 2020.
Jasper also welcomed 183,840 campers in the frontcountry and 24,751 campers in the backcountry from June 17 onwards.
These numbers were down from 2019 by 52 per cent in the frontcountry and 11 per cent in the backcountry, partially due to the delayed opening of campgrounds.
Average occupancy within frontcountry campgrounds during the camping season was 68 per cent, which is on par with 2019.
Maligne Lake, Skyline, Tonquin and Brazeau were the four most popular backcountry areas and reached capacity during the peak season between July and early September.
