Tourism sector asking governments to help Jasper businesses
CBC
Jasper residents have been getting their first in-person look this week at the wildfire that destroyed 30 per cent of structures in town.
While the focus is on controlling the wildfire around the townsite, and getting utilities and essential services ready for residents, questions remain about the future of the visitor services sector, which provides the majority of jobs within the national park.
The Tourism Industry Association of Alberta, the Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association and the Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment are calling on the federal and provincial governments to address the "urgent" need to help businesses get back on their feet and stay open until the tourists can return.
A recent survey of 86 Jasper businesses, which represents 38 per cent of the business community, found only 12 per cent believed they could stay viable without incurring debt for more than six months. Another 53 per cent said they couldn't last another two months.
Operators are also worried about keeping staff that may move away if they can't get work within the community.
The groups say measures like employee wages assistance and the ability for businesses to defer lease payments, WCB premiums, utility payments and taxes could help.
They estimate Jasper is losing $4.5 million in revenue each day in the peak summer months.
One of Jasper's biggest tourist attractions was given permission to reopen Friday when officials allowed Highway 93, the Icefields Parkway, to reopen in the southern part of the park from the Columbia Icefield down to Highway 11 in Banff National Park. The area is about 100 kilometres south of the Jasper townsite and was not affected by the fire.
The opening allowed tourism operator Pursuit to resume operations in the icefields area including the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre and the Columbia Icefield Skywalk.
The timeline for when it is safe for residents to return to their homes and businesses to resume operations is still unknown.
Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of public safety and emergency services, said Friday that most Jasper businesses, aside from essential services like pharmacies, grocery stores and gas stations, haven't yet had a chance to return to see what they need.
Discussions about possible supports are underway among all three levels of government but Ellis said it is still too soon to say when a program will roll out..
Businesses in Waterton Lakes National Park have a good sense of the challenges Jasper is facing.
A September 2017 fire destroyed 19,303 hectares within the park and 80 per cent of its hiking trails.The flames roared over the mountains and came close to the tiny townsite but didn't reach the majority of structures.
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