Tourism Saskatoon is thankful to the provincial government after the recent investment of $35 million into the tourism industry, but say this is just a start.

That according to Vice President and Director of Innovation, Stephanie Clovechok, who says for some tourism operators, the one time payment might be just a drop in the bucket for what they are trying to recover from.

Clovechok says tourism operators in the city are still having to work hard to recover and to just even sustain themselves. Gathering restrictions, she says, have major event facilities completely hamstrung. Clovechok says Saskatoon is a city that is vibrant because of our ability to gather people for events, and operators will need to innovate new ways to gather people and drive safety and security in the city.

Clovechok says this will be an initial support but won’t be the end as they will continue to have to advocate for the tourism industry to receive economic support. She adds major event facilities, hotels, small and medium enterprises desperately need support right now, Clovechok encourages the community to continue to support these organizations to ensure their survival through the pandemic.