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As Canada’s economy reopens, business owners in tourist destinations such as Banff and Whistler, B.C., are increasingly turning to regional visitors — from nearby cities such as Calgary or Vancouver — to make up for part of the decline in revenues.
The goal is to sell area residents a trip to the picturesque destination where — for once — there’s plenty of room for physical distancing and open spaces, which would be swarming with people in any other year.
“Right now, in June, we’re seeing about 44 per cent of the vehicular traffic that we’ve seen at this time of year,” according to Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen.
“One of the things I’ve heard from businesses is if they see 30 to 40 per cent in summer 2020 that they’ve seen in the past couple of years, that would be considered somewhat successful this year,” Sorensen said.
