Tourism in Jasper has reached an all-time high.
While official numbers aren鈥檛 in yet, Tourism Jasper is reporting the park had its highest number of summer visitors in a decade, noting that the majority of the town鈥檚 hotels saw a nightly capacity of 85-100 per cent throughout the season.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any official metrics on where people come from, but we鈥檙e seeing a lot of American license plates so certainly we鈥檙e seeing widespread growth in that market, but we also continue to see Canadians choosing to stay closer to home,鈥� said Tourism Jasper managing director Kyle Harms. 鈥淏ecause of the economic downturn of the province people are choosing destinations closer to home instead of going on a big vacation.鈥�
According to Steve Young, a communications officer with Parks Canada, between April and the end of July the park welcomed more than one million visitors鈥�40,000 more than the same period last year.
鈥淐ampground statistics are not yet available but it is safe to say that they have been operating at or near capacity for the majority of the summer months,鈥� Young wrote in an email.
Amidst this record growth in tourism Mountain Park Lodges (MPL) and the Jasper Downtown Hostel have both submitted applications to the Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) to expand their operations.
MPL pitched a proposal for a 54 unit commercial hotel at 78 Connaught Dr.鈥攖he site of the old Esso gas station, while the hostel wants to expand its current building and add 32 new beds by next year.
Harms attributed Jasper鈥檚 booming tourism numbers to the park鈥檚 鈥渁uthenticity.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e got something very true and very real,鈥� Harms said. 鈥淭here are so many great people in this town that are passionate about their products and the place鈥攁nd that goes really far for travellers.
鈥淧eople look for that authentic experience and that鈥檚 what we have to offer.鈥�
As summer comes to a close, Harms predicts Jasper鈥檚 banner tourism year will continue.
The Jasper Dark Sky Festival, which runs from October 14-23 is fast approaching.
Bill Nye, best known for his popular television program 鈥淏ill Nye the Science Guy鈥�, will be headlining the sixth annual festival.
George Takei will also be participating in this year鈥檚 festival, as well as Canadian astronaut Lt. Col. Jeremy R. Hansen.
Other events taking place during the festival include 鈥淪ymphony Under the Stars鈥� with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the annual Beyond the Stars stargazing event at Lake Annette, the Big Bang Expo, and various space talks.
This will be the first year that the festival has expanded into two core weekends.
After the festival, Harms said Tourism Jasper will switch its focus to winter activities.
鈥淛asper has a lot to offer in the winter so we鈥檙e working hard to get ready for that,鈥� Harms said.
As 2016 comes to a close, Harms said Tourism Jasper will start getting ready for 2017 when admission to all Canada鈥檚 national parks will be free to commemorate Canada鈥檚 150th birthday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working on our high priority strategy for 2017 and right now on the top of that list is the fact that parks will be free,鈥� Harms said. 鈥榃e still have some work to, but we think this is a huge opportunity for us and our events.鈥�
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
