“We’re already hearing people wondering if summer (in the Okanagan) will be good,” Ballingall said. “You can never beat the news.”
Canada’s PR problem with the wildfires
Marsha Walden, CEO of tourism marketing company Crown Destination Canada, said last yr’s headline-grabbing fire season – in addition to the fires currently raging in Western Canada – are having an impact on people’s perception of this country. But she said her organization’s own research shows just one in 10 potential visitors to Canada would consider completely canceling a visit attributable to wildfires.
“Most will adjust their itinerary or schedule,” she said. “So we’ve seen short-term dips in visitors… but people still want to vacation.”
Stavros Karlos of the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta said the increasing frequency of wildfires and smoke across the country is a serious concern for the whole sector.
He said it’s important for tourism businesses to have access to current and accurate details about wildfire activity and air quality so that they can cancel events, change their hours or move activities indoors if crucial.
“In some cases, operators may have the opportunity to continue to provide an experience, albeit somewhat modified,” Karlos said. Although a final tally has not yet been accomplished, last summer’s wildfires likely cost British Columbia’s Okanagan region hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost tourism revenue, said Ellen Walker-Matthews, CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association.
What makes wildfires so difficult from a planning perspective is their sporadic nature, Walker-Matthews said. Smoke, for instance, can shift quickly as winds change, hitting a community in the future and a community 1,000 kilometers away the following.
“We’re just trying to really promote what we have and make sure people know what the current situation is in real time,” Walker-Matthews said, adding that the weather forecast for the long weekend this yr for the Okanagan is “beautiful…spectacular” and there is no such thing as a fire activity in sight. “There is a lot to see and do and I think as long as we communicate the facts accurately, tourism will continue to remain strong.”
