The Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed May 23-29 as Saskatchewan Tourism Week, and it’s using that occasion to remind people of the importance of planning for industry recovery, building a resilient tourism sector, and preparing for the return of visitors.

Pre-pandemic, tourism spending in Saskatchewan reached $2.17 billion in 2019. Estimates for 2020 show that spending dropped to $1.17 billion. There were 11.82 million visits made to and within the province in 2019 . In 2020, that fell to 7.07 million visits to and within our borders. Tourism-related employment hit 71,100 in 2019. It declined 30 per cent over the previous year, with roughly 49,800 people employed in the tourism sector in August 2020.

According to The Conference Board of Canada, there is optimism with $1.71 billion in tourism spending and 9.42 million visits forecast for Saskatchewan in 2021. However, full recovery to pre-pandemic levels is not expected until 2023.

During Tourism Week, Tourism Saskatchewan will be hosting three virtual tourism town hall meetings for industry operators and stakeholders on May 25, 26 and 27. Participants in the Let’s Talk Tourism: The Road to Recovery sessions will hear updates from the Tourism Saskatchewan team on the current state of Saskatchewan’s tourism industry after a year of unprecedented challenges.
The agenda includes presentations on the Restart Marketing Strategy, research and trends, education and training, as well as opportunities to work with Tourism Saskatchewan and access various funding programs that can aid tourism businesses. The town hall meetings are designed to offer two-way dialogue and feature a breakout component with facilitated discussion among industry participants.