Yukon businesses and stakeholders pointing to positive tourist season says Department of Tourism and Culture Director

Tourism and Culture Director Pierre Germain says Yukon businesses and stakeholders are indicating a positive feeling for the 2010 tourism season.

“On a recent trip I made to many Yukon communities, many tourism operators and NGO's indicated that traffic along Yukon highways and in communities appeared stronger than last year,” said Germain. “Most indicated that their revenues were up over last year while one retailer from Whitehorse reported a decline in revenues compared to 2009.”

Germain said while the number of businesses and stakeholders he spoke to was limited, the consensus was that things seem to be more positive than last year. 

Canada Border Services Agency statistics point to a 6% increase in overall visits to the territory in this May over the same time last year. This growth was led by a 24% increase in visitation from overseas markets and a 9% increase in visitations from the United States.

While Germain said there were 320 fewer visitors from other Canadian jurisdictions (a 14% decline) he points to the number being skewed because Yukon experienced a significant increase in domestic visitations in 2009 which was unsustainable.

Other positive numbers include a 17% increase in the number of passengers enplaning and deplaning at the Eric Neilson International Airport in May. The airport also saw a 10% increase in its January to May year to day stats over 2009. Border crossings saw a 12% increase from January to May 2010 over the same period last year. Yukon also leads all other provinces and territories in growth from US and non-resident trips, ahead of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Though the number of businesses and stakeholders I spoke to was limited, the consensus was that year to date, things appear to be more positive then they were last year. I understand that each year some businesses do better than others and that the largest visitation months (July and August) are still yet to come, but the feeling was positive,” he said.

To download the Yukon Tourism Indicators May 2010 report Click Here (38.2 KB PDF)