By Matthew VanDongen
Despite fears of a possible recession, high-end service businesses in Centretown are confident they will benefit from a predicted increase in business travellers and tourists to Ottawa this year.
The Lord Elgin Hotel on Elgin Street is an example of a business willing to act on its confidence in the tourist economy.
General manager Don Blakslee says the hotel is undergoing renovations to satisfy increased tourist demand. These include the addition of an indoor pool, exercise facilities and 60 large suites.
“It’s an opportunity to enhance our hotel, and its facilities,” says Blakslee of the tourism boom.
The Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority (OTCA) predicts tourist spending will reach close to $1 billion this year, an increase of four per cent from last year.
Louise Crandall, corporate services manager at OTCA, says business travellers and convention-goers will “contribute significantly” to this increase, attracted mostly by Ottawa’s booming high-tech industry and government business.
“Businesses directly involved in the tourism industry will obviously benefit most, such as airlines, restaurants and hotels,” Crandall says. “But the more tourists there are, the more everyone benefits.”
Stephane Pelletier, director of marketing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Lyon Street, says his hotel is primed for a good year.
He believes the national “doom and gloom” predictions won’t be that serious because they’re not as applicable on a local level.
He says OTCA’s report is believable and encouraging. “Ottawa’s economic growth is more than sustainable,” he says.
But hotels are not the only businesses looking forward to a rise in the tourist trade.
Roger Moss, general manager of the upscale Hy’s Steak House on Queen Street, estimates that between Monday and Thursday, business travellers and tourists make up the bulk of his customers.
“Hotel guests are our bread and butter,” he says.
Moss says the restaurant feeds off the success of area hotels. He says guests depend on hotel concierges to suggest where to go in the city for food and entertainment.
“They know that if they send someone over here, we’re going to take care of them,” he adds.
At The Cock and Lion Ale House and Pub on Sparks Street, manager Leanne Vurpee says business is booming.
Since the venue changed from a nightclub to an English pub last March, it began attracting business and government workers.
She says an increase in tourists, especially business travellers, would “definitely” increase business.
While she doesn’t know whether the current tourist boom will continue, she says the bar will be stepping-up its advertising campaign with posters and newsletters to attract incoming tourists.
Moss thinks Ottawa “is somewhat insulated” in the event of an economic downturn, since tourism will act as a boost during lean times.
“I see positive (economic) growth for the foreseeable future,” he says. “And I haven’t said that for a long time.”