Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady.The boost in visitors is partly on the Calgary Stampede — taking place from July 7 to 16 — during which early hotel vacancy numbers show an onslaught of tourists planning to descend on the city.
Stampede’s canvas auction earlier this year, which raised $2.75 million for chuckwagon sponsorships, as a sign of a big revenue summer ahead for the Stampede.Article content “We do still have some tickets available for the rodeo and are evening show, but they are selling fast. Both corporate and consumer sales are already exceeding 2019 levels, which was a really strong year for the Calgary Stampede,” said Greer.
Greer said out-of-town Stampede attendees typically account for roughly 30 per cent of visitors throughout the 10-day affair, and they’re happy to welcome international guests back into the fold.Gavin Young/PostmediaThose increased visitor numbers will have an impact on Calgary’s tourist-friendly small businesses as well. Nathan Murdoch, a co-founder of Toonie Tours, which operates guided foot and cycling tours in the city, said they’re starting to book up dates well into the summer.
Calgary’s not only anticipating its standard slate of festivals to be back in full force this summer — such as the Calgary Folk Festival, Chasing Summer and Country Thunder — but it’s also hosting the World Petroleum Congress in September. That event could bring upwards of 15,000 visitors to the city, and Ady said will be a large focus for Tourism Calgary.Article content