The Calgary region is preparing for an increase in visitors before the top of the G7 leaders next month in Kananaskis, Alta., And the hotel rooms are almost impossible to find.
The summit is expected to develop from June 15 to 17, attract thousands of delegates, journalists and security personnel to the region. Throughout the region, 10,000 hotel room reservations are anticipated.
Although the summit itself will be carried out in Kananaskis, a recreational area of the desert to the west of Calgary, the city itself will be the host of much of the support infrastructure.
“Armed and diplomatic services have already begun to get to Calgary for preliminary work,” said Sol Zia, executive director of the Calgary Hotel Association. “We expect around 2,500 levels of diverse services … that will stay in Calgary and the region to [an] extended period “.
Zia said that will be added to an estimate of 45,000 nights of a hotel room, bringing with him a considerable and unexpected impulse for the city’s accommodation sector.
“We estimate almost $ 13 million in accommodation revenues related to the G7 for June,” he said, adding that the amount of security services arriving in Calgary is approximately 2½ times higher than initially planned.
But with several important conferences scheduled in the same month, including the Global Energy Show and the Rotary International Convention, finding a room in Calgary this June will be a challenge.
Given the level of competition, some have resorted to alternative options, including university residences, to visitors. The Mount Royal University already organizes members of the Canadian Armed Forces, which began arriving in mid -May.
“From May 15 to June 30, the uniformed personnel of the Canadian Armed Forces will remain in the residences of the Campus as part of the integrated security group that is prepared for the summit that will include leaders of the G7 Forum of seven of the most advanced economies in the world,” reads a message sent from the university to employees and students.
The University of Calgary will also provide accommodation in the buildings of its residence on the campus.
“The staff will include members of the police and the staff of the Charter buses. The University of Calgary regularly uses its residence during the summer months in response to the needs of the community,” says a university statement.
Tourism officials in Canmore and Kananaskis say they are also listening to positive news, with complete hotels and restaurants that report reservations above average for this time of the year.
“We are listening to many positive anecdotal reports of local businesses. Hotels are at full capacity and restaurants are seeing more common reserves than is usually the quieter shoulder season,” said Rachel Ludwig, CEO of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis, in a statement.
“We want to strengthen that, outside the designated controlled access zone, Canmore and Kananaskis remain open for business.”
Banff, located west of Kananaskis, also awaits an increase in activity. However, the impact is expected to be “minimal,” said a city statement, since the mountain city regularly attracts thousands of people every day in the summer.
“Visitors are encouraged with Banff reservations to maintain [their] Plans such as business as usual, “said a city statement, added that he urged everyone to take traffic and plan in advance.
“It’s an impulse,” says the CEO of the Chamber
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce estimates that the summit could generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 190 million for the local economy and $ 240 million for Alberta as a whole.
“This is a great elevator for the Calgary region,” said Deborah Yedlin, president and executive director of the Calgary Chamber.
“When you think about the fact that the backdrop for all news conferences and all coverage will be the rocky mountains and Banff, this is the best possible promotion for tourism you can ask for. Everyone is here.”
Yedlin said the summit, along with other large -scale events that occur this summer, will help create a strong impulse for local businesses.
“I think you will see a great elevation in terms of accommodation, from transport, any hospitality, retail sale, local businesses, small businesses,” he said.
“It is an impulse for the economy. There are no two ways about it.”
Amber Edgerton, Press Secretary of Andrew Boitcheko, Alberta Tourism and Sports Minister, wrote in a statement that organizing the G7 summit is a “fantastic opportunity” to show Kananaskis and Alberta as a whole.
“The event is expected to increase the international profile of the region, help support local businesses and bring delegates, media and region support teams, each of which will benefit the local economy,” Edgerton wrote.
The leaders of the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada, as well as the European Union, will attend this year’s summit.
