In the nearly six weeks since declaring a state of local emergency and shuttering all non-essential businesses, the economy in Banff has been at a standstill.
The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on Banff has far wider effects. Annually, on average, Banff’s tourism industry contributes more than $3 billion to the provincial economy. Nearly $470 million in federal and $250 million in provincial tax is generated from the town. Darrah said bylaw, police and RCMP manning the checkstops were educating people that the town has no open stores, no services and no attractions, “so they’re best advised to turn around.”
The federal labour census in 2016 indicated that 61 per cent of respondents are employed directly in the tourism sector, which includes retail, accommodation and food services, transportation and arts, entertainment and recreation. “We’ve got roughly a 120-day season and there will come a point where even if they said we could go in August, that the operating startup costs are so high you have to draw a line in the sand somewhere and decide, can we actually operate at all?”
Quick let’s keep the economy closed, what a bunch of dummies!