Following the attack at the War Memorial and Parliament Hill, a number of new challenges could be looming on the horizon for Ottawa’s otherwise stable tourism industry.
Security concerns in major cities can have a significant impact on tourism and the high profile nature of the recent shooting could be cause for concern.
The shooting came just days after a similar attack in Quebec, indicating that Canada may, indeed, a target for terrorists. This may weigh on the minds of many would-be sightseers looking to visit the capital.
Ottawa’s tourism industry should also be bracing itself for another notable long-term issue in the coming years: the prolonged closure of Parliament’s Centre Block for renovations.
Neither of these events will single-handedly bring Ottawa’s tourism industry to its knees. However, they do have the potential to impact businesses that rely on a steady stream of tourists to stay afloat.
With more than a dozen hotels, countless bed and breakfasts, as well as a number of other small businesses catering to local tourists, Centretown is particularly vulnerable to any changes in Ottawa’s tourism industry, which employs roughly 20,000 residents across the city.
Over the past few years, the trends have been largely positive. Tourism spending has increased and hotel occupancy rates in Ottawa rest at a comfortable 67 per cent, according to Ottawa Tourism’s 2013 annual report.
However, considering recent events and future renovations to Ottawa’s chief landmark, it may be time for organizations such as Ottawa Tourism and the National Capital Commission to begin marketing Ottawa in new ways to potential visitors.
The safety concerns of American and overseas visitors in light of the shootings are of some consequence here. While they make up only 15 per cent of tourists annually, they also tend to stay longer and spend more, according to the final report for Ottawa’s 2009 “Premier-Ranked Tourist Destination Project.”
Canadian sightseers, on the other hand, may well decide to postpone any family vacations to the capital for a few years, until Centre Block is once again free of scaffolding.
Such things are difficult to predict, and it may well be that things will remain the same. Fears that the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings would devastate tourism in the city quickly subsided as the public outpour of support led to a two per cent increase in hotel occupancy. However, businesses and organizations relying on tourism dollars would do well to err on the side of caution, and consider ramping up efforts to showcase Ottawa’s safety and diverse landscape.
Centretown alone features a number of landmarks beyond Parliament Hill that can attract the attention of tourists. Museums are particularly prevalent, with the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canadian War Museum, and the Currency Museum all within a few kilometres of one another. However, according to Ottawa Tourism, museum attendance was actually on the decline in 2013.
Despite this troubling figure, these national museums have the potential to be high-capacity attractions to the city in lieu of possible security concerns and future renovations to Parliament.
This is particularly true when they feature high-profile exhibits. In 2012, the Van Gogh exhibit brought record visitation numbers to the National Gallery of Canada.
A shift away from Parliament Hill as Ottawa’s chief tourist attraction, accomplished by attracting high-profile museum exhibits and festivals, can help assure the sustainability of Ottawa’s tourism industry in the face of new challenges.
Museums and festivals, many of which have found a home in Centretown, are at the heart of Ottawa’s diverse appeal as a tourist destination. In the interest of long-term sustainability, it is time for a renewed focus on marketing these attractions, and attracting more high-profile exhibitions, to would-be visitors.