Tourism is facing a bumpy 2009, however the local tourism chamber says the area is well positioned to survive the current global recession, according to provincial tourism officials.

The announcement was made as part of the Jasper Tourism and Commerce annual general meeting, held June 10 at the Sawridge hotel. The news, which came in the form of an update from Travel Alberta, was not new to Jasper Tourism members.

“It’s no surprise international tourism is not going to be as present as it used to,” said Todd Noble, president of the chamber. “Travel Alberta has huge regional campaigns and that’s not a huge shift for us.”

Jasper has long been a draw for visitors from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Noble said, and Albertans have been coming to town for years. However he said there is increased pressure this year.

Noble notes Banff is aggressively pursuing tourists, which is putting an increased strain on Jasper. At its recent annual general meeting, Banff-Lake Louise tourism executive director Julie Canning told her members the destination was stealing market share and was continuing to grow.

“Our neighbours have become very aggressive in the market and we can’t afford to be complacent,” Noble said.

Despite the competitiveness between the two markets, Noble believes they can work together to promote the entire Rockies as a destination.

Travel Alberta representative Cameron Spence said tourism numbers will be down in Alberta for 2009 to levels ‘not seen since September 11 and SARS’ and the business isn’t expecting a return to four per cent increases until 2020.

Despite the decline, Spence said Alberta is proving to be resilient.

“Alberta is not immune to the impacts of the recession, but we’re better positioned for recovery. We will invest in markets that are showing growth,” Spence said.

Mexico is one market that is showing growth, and Travel Alberta continues to work with India and China in an effort to attract more tourists. South Korean tourists are also on the increase. The market is seeing large declines in Japanese and French tourists, while Germany and Australia travel numbers have shown little change.

One of the challenges faced with attracting American tourists is their lack of vacation time. Spence said Americans are ‘vacation starved’ as they average 13 days off per year.

That’s a significant drop compared to France, whose residents average 38 days of vacation a year.

The chamber executive were all acclaimed, with Noble returning for another term as president. The members also elected a new board of directors, however the results of the election will not be released until July.

Noble said membership remains strong, with more than 250 businesses counting themselves as members of Jasper Tourism. He said more members are taking advantage of the resources offered by Travel Alberta to help promote the area.