CANMORE – An ongoing tourism virtual open house series is providing Canmore residents the opportunity to voice their thoughts on the future of the industry in the community.
The public engagement project is designed to better define a framework to help build a sustainable tourism-based economy, but that also helps the long-term health of the community, ensures social connection, environmental sensitivity and strengthens relationships with Indigenous communities.
“There's a real diversity of opinions in the community. There are definitely people who feel like we've reached capacity and are on the verge of being overrun,” said Sally Caudill, the Town of Canmore’s general manager of municipal services.
"There are other people who feel it's a really important economic driver and fundamental to Canmore’s identity and we've never really wrestled it to the ground and admitted that we're a tourism community and really owned it, and think there's some opportunity for us to start to define it and shape it.”
Tourism is one of Canmore’s main economic engines, but it’s also one of the more contentious issues among residents as the busy summer season can make many in the town feel crowded and overwhelmed.
The tourism task force was struck by council in 2019 with the aim of better aligning with the community, the tourism industry, tourists and visitors and the environment.
“I think people have really started to feel overwhelmed in the last couple of years, particularly this last year. I think we all really felt it pretty intensely," Caudill said. "People are coming, but I think in order to find balance, we really need as a community to embrace the fact that people do come here.”
While the actual population of Canmore is around the 15,000 mark, there are many more people in the region who have a deeper connection to the mountain town.
Caudill noted there are areas in Calgary where it’s faster to get to Canmore than downtown Calgary, with many frequently visiting the Bow Valley.
“We need to really find some balance to think about what we value and what the amenities are to the types of visitors we want to attract and what we want visitors to commit to, so that when they come they feel as committed as residents do to respecting and preserving the environment and the sense of community and the values of place," she said.
In the coming years, tourism in the Bow Valley is likely to continue to expand. The last provincial budget saw the Alberta government announce an ambitious plan to double the revenue tourism brings into the province.
The aim is to have tourism spending reach $20 billion annually by 2030, and as one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country, the coming years could see more people visit the region.
“Even where there are differences of opinion, we probably all have more in common. I really believe there's something there that we can build on and shape and come together as we try to think creatively and differently,” Caudill said.
“The systems that we've used in the past aren't going to be the systems that are going to get us to where we need to go, but if we can come together around those things that we all share and want to preserve and protect and carry forward – there's potentially a lot of power in that.”
The virtual open houses are being run by Calgary-based Stormy Lake Consulting. The public engagement phase will run until early August and the information gathered will be analyzed before being presented to the tourism task force on Sept. 23 and council on Oct. 5.
The first open house took place on June 7 and the second one was June 22, while the third is set for July 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. and the final one on July 22 from 1 to 4 p.m.
An online survey, which will be open for three weeks, will be launched July 12.
Before the public open houses began, the tourism task force participated as did Grade 10 students from three area high schools.
People can visit www.mycanmore.ca/ingoodcompany for more information.
Remaining virtual open house dates
- July 7: 5 to 7 p.m.
- July 22: 1 to 4 p.m.
