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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.