Sask. tourism rebounds, but still down by $500M from pre-pandemic levels

The province's tourism industry is doing better than last year, but its revenue is still down by $500 million compared to the year before the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan.

Pandemic restrictions meant a huge drop in revenue for tourism industries across the world, including in Saskatchewan, in 2020. There's improvement this year, but also a lot of uncertainty. 

"It's frustrating to kind of always be looking at restrictions looming. Who knows what's going to come down the pipe?" said Jacki L'Heureux-Mason, the executive director of Tourism Moose Jaw. 

Last year, the total revenue coming in from tourism in Saskatchewan — through spending on things like accommodations, travel, restaurants, and events and activities within the province —  was $1.2 billion, Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Jonathan Potts told CBC News.

This year the industry is doing better. It's projected to see up to $1.8 billion in revenue — possibly a 50 per cent increase, but still below the $2.3 billion in tourism revenue in 2019.

Staycations 'saving grace' amid challenges

Potts said that while there is strong recovery, there are areas of the tourism sector still affected by the pandemic. 

"We still have challenges with air access, business travel, events and with the outfitting sector," he said. 

The outfitting sector relies heavily on Americans coming across the border to fish and hunt, and for the most part they couldn't this summer, Potts said.

The federal government relaxed restrictions in August to allow fully vaccinated Americans to cross the land border into Canada, and said they do not have to quarantine when they arrive.

Since the start of the pandemic, most non-essential foreign travellers were not allowed into Canada. However, as of Sept. 7, the country opened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers from across the world.

Potts said there was also a hit to business travel — which involves conferences, conventions and business meetings. 

"That area of the industry will be a challenge for some time to come because there's more online meetings now and hybridized types of meetings that won't generate as much revenue for the tourism sector," he said. 

He also added that many major cultural and sporting events, which are big revenue generators, were also put on hold during the pandemic.

But one of the major factors in the recovery for the province's tourism industry has been domestic travel — or staycations. 

"If there's been a saving grace and a real silver lining to the pandemic for the tourism industry, it's that our own residents have really taken this opportunity to get to know the province better," Potts said. 

He said he's seen tremendous activity in domestic travel, especially in rural areas of Saskatchewan. 

Interprovincial travel is what helped tourism in Moose Jaw, says L'Heureux-Mason, but the lack of Americans visiting made a big impact. 

"We miss them tremendously, so it makes up a very big part of our deficit," she said. 

Frustration from business owners 

Business owners are the people who help make the city a destination, L'Heureux-Mason said, but she's seen weariness, frustration and anger from them amid lockdowns and pandemic restrictions.

"The phrase I've heard over and over is, 'I can't survive this again,'" she said. 

L'Heureux-Mason said she saw restaurants and hotels take the largest hit.

There was some resurgence in tourism in the summer months, as people felt hopeful, but now people panic when they see the case numbers go up, fearing further restrictions, she said.

Not all tourism-related businesses have struggled during the pandemic, though.

The Royal Saskatchewan Museum's T. rex Discovery Centre in Eastend set a new record for the number of attendees this year, with 12,250 visitors.

The centre reopened again in May after the pandemic shortened its 2020 season.

Tourism Saskatchewan's Potts said he expects to see continued growth for tourism in the province heading into next year.