The cost of increasing fire threats across Western Canada's tourism destinations is tough to calculate, but they are having an effect on businesses that rely on visitors.
Increasingly destructive wildfires, like the one that ravaged Jasper, are taking their toll on the country’s tourism industry, forcing operators to prepare for emergencies and rethink marketing campaigns in the hope that vacationers will keep Canada on their lists of preferred destinations.
The overall cost of increasing fire threats throughout Western Canada’s tourism destinations is tough to tally. But it is having an effect. “It really does have a bigger impact on the international visitation than it does on Canadian tourists. But it’s also devastating at the local level,” said Ms. Potter. Jasper represents a particular struggle affecting a popular vacation spot, she said.
Visitors to Canada’s Rocky Mountains spend billions of dollars each year to experience rugged and unspoiled landscapes, lakes, hot springs and wildlife. Most of them come from the province or other parts of Canada, though international tourists also descend on the region and spend millions on hotels, food, tours and souvenirs.
In 2023, wildfires burned a record 16.5 million hectares in Canada – more than double the previous peak and nearly seven times more than the historical average, according to the Canadian Climate Institute, a policy think tank.
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