Lacklustre economy hit several city partners hard in 2016

Calgary’s sputtering economy is being blamed for a drop in visits to organizations across the city, including the Telus Convention Centre, Heritage Park and the Calgary Zoo.

The city as a whole experienced an 800,000 drop in visitors last year, from eight million in 2015 to 7.2 million in 2016, and a $100 million decline in tourism revenues.

Calgary’s elected officials got updates from a range of civic partners at an annual meeting Thursday, and the heads of many organizations spoke about how the weak economy impacted their work in 2016 and forced them to manage costs and find efficiencies.

Civic affairs reporter Annalise Klingbeil shares details on some of the numbers councillors heard at the meeting of civic partners. 15: The number of civic partners thatto a council presented committee2016 annual Thursday, reports including Tourismthe Calgary Calgary, Zoo, Telus Fort Spark, Calgary, Arts Calgary Commons, Economic Sport Development.Calgary and 1.32 million: The number of visitorsslight dip to fromthe Calgary1.35 millionZoo in in 2016, 2015. a 19 per cent: The amount Arts Commons’ revenues from venue usage and ticket sales were down in 2016 compared to 2015. 5 per cent: The year-over-year decline in memberships recorded by the Repsol Sport Centre. 431,280: The number of visits to Telus Spark in 2016, a 15 per cent increase from 2015. The Body Worlds exhibit, visitor improvements, and increased marketing are being credited for the spike. 6.3 million: the number of visits to Calgary libraries in 2016, a drop from 6.7 million in 2015. $2.5 million: The dollar value in requests from various arts organizations to Calgary Arts Development Authority. $1 million was doled out through the Arts Emergency Resiliency Fund meaning not all requests were met. 26,598: The number of paid visits to Fort Calgary in 2016, an increase over the 25,088 paid visitors in 2015. 12 per cent: The decline in banquet attendance recorded at Heritage Park in 2016. At the same time that corporate clients cancelled events or scaled back the size and budget, education program attendance grew 17 per cent as new programs were developed. 40 per cent: The drop in events recorded by the Calgary Telus Convention Centre in 2016. 7.2 million: The number of people who visited Calgary in 2016, a drop from 8 million in 2015, according to Tourism Calgary. $231,000: The dollar figure of complimentary Calgary Zoo visits donated to both refugees (1,100 memberships) and Fort McMurray fire evacuees (8,000 visits). 88: The number of memorial benches sponsored in city parks and along pathways in 2016, according to the Calgary Parks Foundation.