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
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.