Tourism industry booms as Manitobans begin travelling again
Manitoba's tourism industry is booming as the pandemic ends and people start to travel more, but we're also seeing more Manitobans leaving our province on vacation as the "return to normal" continues.
The staycation trend -- popularized during the pandemic -- seems to be staying. Judy McIver has been travelling all over Manitoba this summer, "We were at Blue Lake campground last week. We've been up to Birds Hill, out to Henasa campground. So we've done lots of camping this year."
Heading to a cabin near Gimli in a few weeks, Noel & Jordan Dyck are among many Manitobans exploring their own province.
"We just haven't had a chance to get away with all of my siblings so my mom thought it would be a good idea rent a cabin up there and bring at the kids with," said Jordan.
Also fuelling local tourism are the return of events like the Icelandic festival in Gimli and the Manitoba Stampede in Morris. Brian Wiebe, president of the Valley Agricultural Society, said the stampede was very popular. "I’ve been speaking with business owners all weekend, they have been swamped. The restaurants, the hotels. To the best of my knowledge, this has been decades since we’ve had every single hotel room in town booked solid."
But Manitobans aren't just sticking close to home. The Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) says many people are also travelling across the country.
More than 775,000 people travelled through the Winnipeg airport between April and June, according to the WAA. That's only 71 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers for the same period three years ago, but communications manager Michel Rosset says it is a 569 per cent increase over last year.
"We know a lot of people are travelling domestically, he said, "People are visiting those family and friends and places across the country where they might not have been able to visit in the last two and a half or three years."
The increase in domestic travel is also bringing tourists to Winnipeg. The out of towners -- like Meagan Levay who came from Alberta to visit family -- also bring with them a boost in business for hotels, restaurants and gas stations.
"We were at Lake Winnipeg yesterday," said Levay. "Eric has a sail boat so we enjoyed a nice day out there then we are just hanging out today and then go out for dinner later."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Tesla recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because accelerator pedal can get stuck
Tesla is recalling 3,878 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after it discovered that the accelerator pedal can become stuck, potentially causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally and increase the risk of a crash.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
A couple lost their wedding rings during the ceremony. Two strangers found a fitting solution
Every good wedding has to have one teensy, tiny crisis.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.