Winter fest gives big lift to local firms

By Nathan Bragg

Ottawa residents might not love the cold temperatures and snowstorms that have been hitting the city hard in February. But the snow and ice can bring substantial rewards to the city’s tourism industry.

This year is slated to be a big one for the city, with Canada 150 celebrations expected to bring plenty of visitors to the capital. But this month’s big draw was an established annual event that  got people out and braving the cold in impressive numbers:Winterlude.

Now in its 39th year, the famous winter festival organized by the Department of Canadian Heritage included a range of events across the city and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors during its three-weekend run .

Tourism is one of Ottawa’s top three industries and, according to Ottawa Tourism spokesperson Caroline Couture-Gillgrass, it has a big impact on a wide variety of businesses.

“People stay in the hotels, they eat in the restaurants,” she said. “The benefits trickle down — all of those businesses need to then spend money to get signs made, or cater food or update their rooms, which means working with other providers in the community.”

The Lord Elgin Hotel has been one of Winterlude’s big beneficiaries, according to Ann Meelker, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. She said Winterlude gives the historic hotel, located at the corner of Elgin and Slater, a big boost, noting that it was about 98-per-cent full during the second weekend.

“A typical Winterlude weekend, we sell out,” she said. “Winterlude over the years has been terrific for tourism in February.”

The Lord Elgin has the advantage of being close to many Winterlude attractions, including the ice sculptures in Confederation Park and the Rideau Canal Skateway, billed as the world’s “largest outdoor skating rink.”

Meelker said reservations can often depend on the weather and if the canal is open. “If the weather is good, we might get a bunch of reservations on the Friday for the whole weekend.”

This year’s cold weather helped the NCC record more skating days by mid-February than during all of last year.

Last year was a difficult one for the skateway, as warm temperatures resulted in the canal only being open for 34 days — including just 18 days when people were permitted to skate, according to the canal’s custodian, the National Capital Commission.

NCC spokesperson Cédric Pelletier said the canal welcomes an average of 20,000 visitors per day and close to a million per year during its open season, most of which overlaps with the three weeks of Winterlude. Pelletier said the NCC is hoping for over one million visitors this year.

“So far it’s been, the weather is cold and we’re hoping to keep the skateway open as long as we can,” Pelletier said in mid-Februrary. “The future looks very good.”

Couture-Gillgrass said major events like Winterlude can be especially advantageous for businesses due to its three-week duration.

“There’s a large amount of time when people can attend, and a lot of it is free — which is really attractive to visitors, which might entice them to spend more money or stay longer.”

Andrew Peck, executive director of the Glebe BIA, said Winterlude creates opportunities for businesses and visitors alike.

“The point of a festival is to bring people together and create a community,” he said. “I think events are huge in helping build critical mass that businesses rely on.”

Redeveloped in recent years, Lansdowne Park has also become a host to some of the festival’s events, which is helping Glebe businesses, said Peck.

“This area has gone through a massive transformation in the past couple of years, and now it’s become this massive launching off point for Winterlude,” he said.

Commenting as the festival was coming to a close, Peck said he was hoping that it would finish strong and provide revenue for businesses and memorable experiences for families. The Glebe has a tourist-area exemption that allowed businesses to remain open on Family Day, Feb. 20, the final day of Winterlude.

“They’ll see what the area has to offer, and hopefully those people are going to come back and build a connection with the area and those businesses.”