Page 3
New Health Authority
takes effect April 1
Number of visitors up
Amanda Stephenson
astephenson@medicinehatnews.com
High gas prices did impact Medicine Hat tourism in 2007/2008, but surprisingly,
the effect wasn’t all bad.
2007/2008 was a slightly better year than the year previously when it came
to the number of tourists visiting the city from neighbouring provinces, the
United States, and other countries. However, these numbers are still down from
what they were in 2005/2006, when gas prices were much lower.
What Medicine Hat lost last year in visitors from far away, however, it made up
for with the hometown crowd. The Medicine Hat Visitor Information Centre
saw a 38 per cent increase in the number of visitors last year, and most of those
visitors were people from the local area.
“People were staying close to home because of the high gas prices,” explains
Mary Lou Hansen, president and CEO of the Medicine Hat and District
Chamber of Commerce.
In fact, the number of Medicine Hat residents who visited the Visitor
Information Centre leapt by 269 per cent from 2006/2007 to 2007/2008 — from
just under 2,000 to over 5,000. The number of visitors from southern Alberta RV
also increased, from under 500 to just over 1,000.
Hansen says most of the people who choose Medicine Hat as their vacation
CARE
destination are attracted to its history, as well as its proximity to other
recreational opportunities.
“People like that they can use it as a hub,” Hansen says. “They can go out for
“Ensuring you an enjoyable and carefree RV experience”
a day, go canoeing, go hiking, check out Fort Walsh, and then come back and
stay here.”
Over 200 units available!
Medicine Hat also got a boost in the summer of 2008 from the Canada Summer
Games and the Baseball Canada Cup, two events which attracted large numbers
No payments for up to 6 months - oac
of athletes and their families to the city.
While the number of requests for information about Medicine Hat — including
Choose from brand name manufactures
packages for conventions and events — decreased by 48 per cent from the
previous year, calls coming in to Medicine Hat Tourism’s toll-free information
line remained steady at about 100 calls per month. And the number of hits on
the city’s tourism website actually increased by 30 per cent.
“It shows people are really looking at pre-holiday planning,” Hansen says.
With the global economy experiencing a downturn, Hansen says she would
expect to see local traffic continue to be the driving force behind the Medicine
Hat tourism industry. However, this will be the first time in 12 years the
Chamber of Commerce will not be involved, as the city and chamber failed to
successfully negotiate a new tourism services contract.
“It’s sad that we’re no longer
doing tourism through the
Chamber,” Hansen says. “I
40251482•03/24/09
hope the quality of tourism
in Medicine Hat can be
maintained.”
The Medicine Hat Visitor
Information Centre is open
year-round, Monday to Friday
from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
One Convenient Location
548-7087
1800 South Highway Dr. Redcliff
Next to Truckers Truck Stop
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