Will Calgary Stampede overcome air travel troubles and COVID resurgence fears?

Last year the province announced it would be the ‘Greatest Summer Ever,’ but Calgary Stampede was still lacking as it couldn’t achieve pre-pandemic levels of visitors.

Now people are wondering if the first ‘normal’ Stampede in three years will be able to overcome that or if fears of a COVID resurgence coupled with airport issues around the country will stamp out Stampede hype.

“I think it’s good news for retailers, restaurants, hotels, those folks who’ve been really hit hard by COVID, and I understand the Stampede has really high-ticket sales for the rodeo events, showing that between the tourists and the locals, this is going to be a successful Stampede,” Premier Jason Kenney said Thursday.

He says he isn’t worried about a potential spike in COVID numbers post-Stampede.

“The virus continues to circulate, but between high levels of natural immunity from prior infection plus 90 per cent of eligible people having gotten a vaccine dose, we are — like the rest of the world — moving on with life. I don’t want people in the summer of 2022, when we only have about 20 people in ICUs with COVID, I don’t think people should be sheltering at home [and] living in fear.”

In 2020, the 10-day Western tradition was canceled for the first time in its 112-year history.

It came back in 2021, but it was scaled back significantly and included some physical distancing practices and spectators weren’t allowed at the parade. Instead, it was broadcasted.

This year, it’s going back to how it was pre-pandemic.

“People are going to have an awesome time. COVID was two tough years, it was divisive, there were a lot of things lost. People can [now] come back as a community, to heal those wounds, get past those divisions, [and] reunite as a community. So, I think it’s a great morale booster,” Kenney added.

“Just this morning, at the first breakfast in downtown, I met tourists from all around the world — of course from the U.S., from Britain, elsewhere from Europe, Asia — who are coming back to this, the biggest tourist event in the province. So, I think this is good news for the hospitality sector.”

The premier says last summer had no restrictions in place and there was no post-Stampede spike in cases.

“There were, I think at most a few dozen cases of transmission traced back to Stampede activities,” he noted.

Read More:

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• Calgary Transit increasing service during Stampede

However, with experts predicting delays and chaos at Canadian airports lasting through the summer, are those inconveniences enough to deter people from flying into Calgary for Stampede?

“We’re not quite fully back on the travel side for sure as you’ve seen our airlines have had to cancel some of their flight schedules to deal with big logistic problems, but it’s getting back to normal, that’s the good news,” Kenney said.

Founder of The Travel Lady Agency, Lesley Keyter, tells CityNews Stampede is famous and she suspects the airport troubles won’t be enough to stop people from putting on their cowboy boots and donning the denim on denim.

“We’re expecting a surge of visitors because everybody is trying to get back to whatever we can call normal these days,” she added.

“I think it’ll be fine; I know personally people from B.C. and Ontario who have flown in for the Stampede, [and] managed to get in fine without any travel difficulties. Also, I think that we’re going to get a lot of people from the surrounding areas who are going to drive into Calgary to come and see this.”

The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth runs Friday through to July 17.