Banff, Lake Louise brace for even more visitors in 2025 as Jasper rebuilds

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CALGARY — The ripple effect of the wildfire that devastated the town of Jasper last summer could continue to impact Alberta’s tourism sector in 2025, industry insiders say.

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At Charming Inns of Alberta — a group of small, privately owned inns with locations across the province — operators in Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore are preparing for a busier than usual summer.

Already crowded Rocky Mountain destinations could become even more crowded if travelers who would have visited Jasper look for alternative itineraries instead, said James Hague, marketing director for Charming Inns.

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“Certainly, in 2024, we’ve seen a significant amount of capture in Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore (due to the Jasper fires),” Hague said.

“This is unfortunate, but we expect a slight rebound in 2025 as well.”

Jasper National Park — Canada’s second-most visited national park and home to attractions like the Columbia Icefield — made international headlines in July when a fast-burning wildfire swept through the region.

A third of the buildings in the park’s historic city site were damaged or destroyed. Visitation to Jasper, which reached an all-time high of 2.48 million people in 2023, fell to nearly zero in August, according to ATB Financial.

Jasper is being rebuilt, and both the park and the city site are open for business through 2025. But visitors planning a trip there are encouraged to check in advance what services will be available.

While many hotels survived the fire, a few were completely destroyed, meaning Jasper will not have the same ability to welcome guests throughout the night as before the disaster.

“I think our hotel operators are anticipating that we will get some surplus (this summer) from people who planned to go to Jasper and can’t find capacity there,” said David Mathis, vice president of destination development for Banff and Lake Louise. tourism, although he said the rise would likely be small.

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Banff is Canada’s oldest and most visited nature park, located about 280 kilometers southeast of Jasper. Visits to the park have increased by 31 per cent over the past decade to 4.28 million visits last year, making 2023/24 Banff’s busiest year on record.

In a park management plan posted on its website, Parks Canada says crowding and congestion are raising concerns, both in the city of Banff itself and at nearby attractions like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake where traffic control staff are required 24 hours a day to manage capacity.

In the summer of 2023, approximately 1,800 vehicles per day were turned away from Lake Louise due to overcapacity, according to Parks Canada.

All of Alberta’s parks and outdoor recreation areas have seen a significant increase in visits in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Clara-Jane Bly, a postdoctoral fellow in kinesiology, sport and recreation at the University of Alberta.

She said it would be wise for businesses in already popular Rocky Mountain destinations to prepare for more tourists while Jasper works to rebuild.

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She also said it’s a good idea for Alberta to promote some of its lesser-known destinations this summer, which could help ease the burden on popular spots like Banff and Lake Louise.

But while some tourists will likely choose to avoid Jasper, others may seek it out intentionally, Bly said.

“There’s some really great research around the idea of ​​empathy-based tourism, which suggests that people will want to visit Jasper to show solidarity and support,” Bly said.

“I think we will likely see some of these people visiting Jasper or the areas surrounding Jasper and not necessarily being displaced to Banff.”

The town of Canmore, located just east of Banff on the Trans-Canada Highway, is also preparing to receive more visitors next year due to a G7 summit scheduled to be held in nearby Kananaskis, Hague said, along with Charming Inns. Canmore and other mountain towns may need to work harder this summer to make sure they are prepared for higher volumes, he said.

“I imagine you’ll see (companies) offering slightly higher wages and benefits, or end-of-season bonuses to team members to entice them to stay for the entire season,” he said.

“This is the thing I hear and see.”

But in the popular city of Banff, Hague said tourism operators were already used to dealing with the annual crush of visitors and would likely accept any further increase in 2025.

“In Banff, it’s just one level of chaos to another level. It’s crowded every year,” Hague said.

“Whether it’s 95 percent occupancy or 98 percent, it’s not a big difference operationally.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2024.

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