Nothing succeeds like success, they say.
By that definition, recent large-scale special events in Banff National Park could be viewed as successful in that they’ve attracted large numbers of tourists/participants; thousands of them.
Marketing and advertising-wise, events like the RBC GranFondo, and even the suddenly, wildly popular larch viewing can be pointed to as successful.
Unfortunately, they could also be viewed as events suffering from their own success.
The problem with relying on a big push to create special events as a means to increase tourist visitation and drive the local economy is that large, successful events do create their own problems. Problems which need to be addressed.
Witness, if you will, how flogging the idea of touring the Banff Lake Louise area to view larch trees turning yellow has indeed resulted in thousands of people, in their vehicles, descending upon Moraine Lake and other areas.
The trouble is, all those extra thousands of tourists are driving to the site, thereby causing “larch jams” – and possibly helping coin a new term for a flora or fauna-related traffic jam, much like bear jams or elk jams.
The thing is, for many people, a jam of any kind is a turnoff. In all likelihood, for all the people who showed up, enjoyed the splendour of a forest of larch turning colour and took away some photos, the same number would be turned off by the traffic congestion; vowing to never return.
For those who drove the family out to view the larch, parking a couple of kilometres away and hoofing it to a viewing location, kids in tow, would be a deterrent to enjoying the day. No more so, though, than having stern-faced Mounties or wardens on scene, directing traffic and closing roads in the name of safety and leading to a much longer day than most people would have planned for.
It doesn’t make sense to embark on a tourism marketing blitz to attract people to the area to see the larch turning colour if plans aren’t in place for making it an enjoyable experience.
This is where shuttle buses must be included in future plans.
Many people were likely hoping for a wilderness/environmental experience – walking elbow to elbow with hundreds of others does not provide that. Rather, it might be said to provide more of a Calgary Stampede experience.
With the GranFondo cycling event, there’s no doubt it not only attracted the 1,500 riders involved, but accompanying friends, family, spectators, etc. It was a day that Banff could easily have been described as hopping.
Again, the trouble is, it’s one thing for the Town of Banff itself to voluntarily be inundated with GranFondo attendees and put up with traffic congestion in the name of a tourist-attracting special event. But at times, westbound Trans-Canada Highway traffic was backed up from the Banff/Minnewanka turnoff to the power station and you could almost feel the hot anger emanating from vehicles crawling along the road.
Drivers of the vast majority of these vehicles weren’t taking in the GranFondo event, though, they were simply professional truckers, tourists, families, RVers, etc. trying to make their way westward – while cursing yet another holdup in the national park.
Clearly, shuttle transport is essential when special events are being pondered. What Banff doesn’t need is for prospective visitors to be circling special events days as those when a trip to the tourist town is to be avoided.
Shuttles work well for Ice Magic, dragon boat races and other events; well enough that they should be included with virtually any event that will attract hundreds of vehicles.
