1 week Ago By Brody Langager
Saskatoon is Saskatchewan’s single biggest contributor to the visitor economy, and has grown beyond pre-pandemic levels according to new data. Statistics shared by the Canadian Tourism Data Collective show visitor spending in Saskatoon has surpassed totals reached prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data indicates visitor spending in 2024 reached $802.
8 million, which was a 9.3 per cent increase compared to 2023 — and higher than pre-pandemic spending of $651.3 million in 2019.
Taking inflation into account, the 2019 spending numbers would translate to around $789.3 million in today’s dollars — still below what spending reached in 2024, according to the data collective. Saskatoon made up 20.
33 per cent of the province’s visitor economy in 2024, and Regina 14.87 per cent. The data showed there are 1,737 tourism businesses in the city, which create 12,835 jobs.
This covers 9.8 per cent of the total employment in Saskatoon. “The visitor economy has a major role in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan’s overall economic wealth and community well-being,” Discover Saskatoon CEO Stephanie Clovechok said in an interview.
International travellers are coming to Saskatoon primarily for sector-specific business events, Clovechok said. “We’re pretty clear that tourism and travel is an opportunity to diversify an economy, and it also helps to secure our economic future,” she said. Clovechok said the city has space for these types of business events, and hotel rates are competitive.
Saskatoon also offers experiences like the Remai Modern, Wanuskewin or the Meewasin Valley. “We still have some constraints like air (travel) capacity in international markets, but we’re really working on those actively with our partners,” she added. Travellers from other Saskatchewan communities made up the highest amount of visitor spending in Saskatoon, generating $367.
2 million. Visitors from other provinces generated $225.6 million, American visitors generated $127.
8 million, and international visitors generated $82.1 million. Clovechok admitted that stakeholders are on pins and needles with tariffs impacting the economy.
While acknowledging the uncertainty, there are still aspirations for another increase in the visitor economy this year. Throughout March and April, U.S.
President Donald Trump has announced tariffs for Canada and much of the world on items like steel and aluminum, auto parts and potash products. “The United States is a dominant market for this province as it relates to visitation, and that is yet for us to understand how deeply impacted our visitation will be because of people’s perceptions,” she said. Perception will play a major factor on whether people travel from the United States to Saskatchewan, Clovechok said.
There has already been a drop in Canadians travelling to the U.S. Canadians are much more likely to travel within Canada this year, Clovechok said, noting a sense of pride and sovereignty felt by many.
Resources have been allocated to draw more Canadians to Saskatoon, but efforts have also been made to get people from the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea to visit. Clovechok said there’s hesitation right now to travel to the U.S.
“We bring the people here who might want to invest in this community. Any visit to this city is potential investment or human capital residing in this community,” she said. Nationally, tourism spending contributed $104.
48 billion to the Canadian economy in 2024, which was a 3.6 per cent year-over-year increase. RelatedScott Moe talks 'Liberation Day' and European trade missionMandryk: Trump's toxic tariffs make it tough for Moe to escape MAGA stenchU.
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