With tourism week taking place May 31 to June 6, Tourism Saskatchewan wants to raise awareness about the sights that Saskatchewan has to offer and the contributions tourism staff make to the province as well.
Money spent because of tourism in the province exceeds $2.12 billion every year, and more than 12.5 million visits are made to and within the province. In addition, about 57,000 people are employed in the industry or in tourism-related jobs.
“Our sky is renowned. Our landscapes are wide open,” said Jonathan Potts, executive director of marketing and communications with Tourism Saskatchewan. “People especially in larger centres or in other parts of the country or world don’t get the opportunities to see landscapes like ours very often.”
To celebrate, communities across the province have held public events to raise awareness for tourism, though the City of Humboldt didn’t have any events this year.
The stereotype about Saskatchewan is that it’s all boring fields and flat land. One campaign Tourism Saskatchewan has launched is to dissuade potential tourists of this notion.
“People who only travel through Saskatchewan stay on the Trans Canada Highway and think it’s boring prairie,” he said. “We’ve taken the initiative of showing some of the beauty of the prairies.”
Potts used the example of Grasslands National Park, which is renowned for its night sky. Saskatchewan’s wide open spaces also allow people to watch the northern lights or meteor showers.
“It’s an experience you can’t get in Toronto or larger centres,” he said.
He also mentioned that another important destination are the Athabasca sand dunes.
“It’s absolutely a unique environment within the world and across the world,” he said. “It’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Lately, Tourism Saskatchewan and its partners have been focusing on drawing people from the U.S. to visit Saskatchewan, particularly hunters and anglers.
Part of Tourism Saskatchewan’s annual campaign this year is focused on central and northern Saskatchewan, including the Canadian Shield, Churchill River, Prince Albert National Park and more.
“That really does catch people who only think Saskatchewan is Prairie,” Potts said. “It makes them stop and think about what Saskatchewan has to offer.”
He also said that people don’t think about some of the cultural festivals Saskatchewan has to offer, such as the Ness Creek Music Festival, Gateway Music Festival, and the upcoming SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival.
“We bring in big name talent,” Potts said. “People don’t think Saskatchewan has the ability to pull off something like that and we do it very, very well.”
And of course, beyond the attractions, people like the Saskatchewan people.
“We get the comment often … that when people come here, they don’t necessarily feel like a tourist. They feel welcomed by the community,” he said.
He added that anecdotally, people talk about slowing down and relaxing in the province.
“It’s a relaxing experience and quite the opposite of going to a larger place like New York or Disneyland,” Potts said. “In our hectic day to day lives we can slow down and enjoy life with friends and family.”
