Booking an overnight stay in a local hotel or renting a hotel pool for an hour are a few ideas that people can still support on site.

“Tourism is supposed to be fun, and right now it’s not, but when we get out of this we want to be ready to invite people into our neighborhoods and into our community,” he says. “That’s why we’re scared when the COVID numbers rise again. We want this industry to get going again. “

Tourism Red Deer has a diverse membership that extends all the way to Stettler, where Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions is a member.

Rondeau also commends the craft beer industry for setting an example of how other sectors can thrive now and in the future.

“This is a great example of collaboration. They work together, not against each other, ”he says. “Look at the Craft Beer Commonwealth. These are a couple of breweries that work together to create a cool unit. “

In 2019, Alberta’s tourism industry employed 68,000 people and added $ 6.5 billion to the provincial GDP. Those numbers fell dramatically in 2020, but Travel Alberta says on its website that the visitor economy looks promising as a central pillar of economic diversification.

The industry “will recover,” says the province’s tourism authority.

According to Destination Canada’s weekly COVID-19 sentiment poll conducted on March 2, 55 percent of Alberta respondents said they feel safe traveling to other provinces. Perceived safety was the lowest when thinking about traveling to the United States. and elsewhere internationally. Only 22 percent of Albertans said they would feel safe in the United States

The latest Alberta Tourism Market Monitor Watch, shared by the Alberta government, shows that tourism unemployment is 16.2 percent. Meanwhile, Red Deer’s hotel occupancy dropped from 20.6 percent last November to 15.5 percent in January. Average daily room rates and revenue per available room also fell.

“To get through this next year we need to plant the seeds of the future for tourism, and we need to work together to plant this garden,” adds Rondeau, noting that Tourism will set up Red Deer committees focused on things like food tourism , Hospitality, outdoor leisure and arts, culture and heritage.

“We did a good job reinventing the wheel with curb services, and restaurants have changed the game. We have a lot of great things in our own garden. When the doors open, the garden can be picked and people can explore. “

For more information, please visit VisitRedDeer.com.

CONNECTED

All options on the table when planning for Westerner Days

Volunteer Central is closing its doors until June 30th

by Josh Hall and Sheldon Spackman

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR