BANFF – Delivered a devastating blow by the COVID-19 crisis, Banff’s tourism industry is on the cusp of shifting from response to recovery mode.
The tourist towns of Banff and Lake Louise – where about 80 to 85 per cent of the workforce was laid off and businesses shuttered for the past three months – are slowly starting to reopen, with a reported 50 per cent of businesses open in some form.
“We are focused on a safe reopening because we need to reopen and our endeavour is to stay open,” said Leslie Bruce, president and CEO of Banff Lake Louise Tourism at the organization’s recent annual general meeting.
“We want to welcome visitors back and make them feel welcome … we have what people are looking for. We have nature, open spaces, change of scenery and we are a safe place.”
Currently, Alberta Health Services is reporting no COVID-19 cases in Banff National Park. There have only been four recorded cases in the tourist resort so far – and all four patients have recovered.
With a reduction in provincial coronavirus cases overall, the Town of Banff signalled the return of regional visitation last week, with gradual increases in business activity, in alignment with Parks Canada’s staged resumption of services and access in Banff National Park.
In the tourist hotspot of Lake Louise, Parks Canada is limiting the number of vehicles at Upper Lake Louise to 100 at a time in order to allow people to safely distance to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
One of the Town of Banff’s key measures is to close the 100 and 200 blocks of Banff Avenue and a portion of Caribou Street to vehicle traffic in order to provide more space for people to maintain the required two-metre social distancing.
The municipality is also installing hand-sanitizing stations at more than 20 locations in the main area of town, and additional signage to remind everyone of the need to maintain social distancing and continue with personal health measures, for everyone’s safety.
Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen said the townsite is ready to safely open its doors to visitors because the Banff community has diligently followed health protocols to stop the spread of COVID-19 over the last several months.
“Their personal and professional sacrifices have paid off as we already have about 50 per cent of our businesses and services back open with some level of service,” said Sorensen, who sits on Banff’s economic recovery task force.
“I am confident the extra time and measured approach we have taken will protect the health of our community, and may make Banff one of the safest destinations in the world, if we all continue to take safety measures seriously.”
Building on Destination Canada and Travel Alberta’s work, BLLT is building its own plans around a six-phase framework that focuses on what travellers are likely attracted to when deciding to visit Banff National Park.
The six-phased approach, which will change as the situation evolves, considers a partial reopening of the U.S border perhaps in September, but no return to other international flights until perhaps April 2021.
However, it is not known for sure when the U.S. border, which was shut to non-essential travel in March, will reopen.
“At this moment in time, we have messaging from the federal government that says they will be revisiting this on June 21,” said Bruce. “We don’t have any more information than that to indicate whether it will opening on the 21st or later.”
Bruce said one of BLLT’s core activities has been closely monitoring signs from major markets.
“We’re obvious keenly focused on Alberta, Canada and the U.S. with more distant looking towards international markets further down the line,” she said.
“We can say there is definitely domestic demand and that demand is growing.”
Resident sentiment surveys, which are being done by Destination Canada, show that Albertans are currently the most ready to welcome travellers back to their hometowns compared to other provinces across the country.
According to other tourism surveys, 35 per cent of Canadians plan to take a domestic trip within the next three months – but there are concerns around safety and being able to cancel bookings.
The surveys indicate that 63 per cent of people said they would eat in a restaurant with certain conditions, such as social distancing, mask wearing and regular cleaning of surfaces. In addition, 28 per cent said the most important thing travel companies could do to help them book a holiday is to offer a money-back guarantee.
“Flexibility and the ability to cancel is really key for people’s willingness to make forward looking bookings at this time,” said Bruce.
“Additionally, I need to underscore the importance, although it is intuitive, for the focus on health and safety,” she added.
“These practices will be absolutely essential in building confidence and ensuring we can continue to deliver exceptional experiences in destination.”
The intent of U.S travellers to come to Canada isn’t as strong as domestic tourism.
Of those Americans who would travel in the next three to six months, surveys indicate that only 11 per cent would consider travel only in North America, while 56 per cent of those specified U.S. travel only.
The most likely influence on a decision to book flights is no charges or cancelation fees, said Bruce.
“The U.S. travel intent for next year is definitely softer. That said, given what we have seen and how we see it evolve, we’re quite certain the intent stats will improve when the border reopens and as the U.S. COVID situation becomes more stable,” she said.
“It is also really important to note that flexibility around cancelation returns is also incredibly important in getting people to book further out, and I underscore this because these are things that are within our control and things that we can influence.”
One of the biggest areas of focus for BLLT has been working to protect Banff National Park’s reputation as a tourist destination, while supporting the government messages during the health crisis.
She said BLLT, Parks Canada, the Town of Banff and other partners worked on a clear and consistent approach, which was essential to help "flatten the curve" and protect Banff and Lake Louise’s reputation locally and globally.
“Asking people to stay home is one of the most counter-intuitive things to do as a tourism marketer,” said Bruce.
“People will travel again and they most certainly want to come here.”
Although BLLT is expecting its 2020 to be reduced by an estimated 60 per cent due to the fallout of COVID-10, Bruce said the organization will continue to position the national park as a safe and desirable place to visit.
“We will ensure that our marketing is targeted to help build the pipeline of interest that we’re going to need, not only through this summer but into next winter and next summer,” she said.
“This is really hard and it will take longer than any of us would like … but we are stronger together and have the tools we need to rebuild this industry.”
Before the pandemic hit, about $3 billion in spending in Alberta was generated by Banff each year. Banff National Park draws more than a four million visitors a year.
During a recent Travel Alberta webinar for Tourism Week, ATB Financial vice-president and chief economist Todd Hirsch said tourism was going to lead the way in growth with a few other sectors in 2020.
But Hirsch said tourism has gone from “the fastest growing to the one in a complete standstill” very quickly and suddenly as a result of the fallout of the COVID-19 health pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is kind of a reset button for a lot of things, including our ideas about environmentally sustainable tourism and more ecologically and environmentally friendly tourism,” he said.
“I think it has heightened some awareness about what the world could look like if we are a little bit easier on it.”
How does the tourism industry get out of this? Hirsch said domestic travel will lead the way initially.
“Looking forward, probably late this year or maybe more into 2021, when gradually we will start to see international tourism reopen,” he said. “There may be an opportunity for Canada, and Alberta, to differ itself from our tourism competitors.”
Hirsch pointed to other tourism heavy weights such as London, Italy and New York, where there are substantially higher rates of COVID-19 infection.
“Is this an advantage for Canada with wide open spaces? We offer something those cities do not – and that is a lot of space. There is a lot of possibilities to have a great vacation and still be physically distancing,” he said.
“As horrible as this downturn has been for our economy, industries and for businesses, I think it has been maybe a bit of a wake-up call for many of us to identify what is important in our lives and this is where I come back to the importance of community.”
While Banff Mayor Sorensen understands the angst among some residents about the return of visitors and how busy this summer may be, she said Banff will be definitely quieter than previous years.
“We know that more than 50 per cent of our visitors are from outside of Canada; that more than 50 per cent of our visitation isn’t coming,” said the mayor.
“Businesses feel that if they see 30 to 40 per cent of the business of visitation that they have seen in the last few years, that’s what they are expecting.”
– with files from Tanya Foubert
