Stats Canada numbers show strong tourism growth in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan’s tourism sector made significant gains in 2017.

Visits to and within the province by Canadians increased by 9.4 per cent from 2016, placing Saskatchewan well ahead of Canada’s overall growth rate of 2.1 per cent. Visitor expenditures showed even higher growth, with a jump of 10.4 per cent. Canadian visitors, including Saskatchewan residents travelling within the province, spent $1.88 billion in 2017.

"We are delighted by the growth in the province’s tourism sector in the domestic market," Minister Responsible for Tourism Saskatchewan Gene Makowsky said. "Saskatchewan has an abundance of attractions and beautiful natural scenery, and it is good to see visitors from Canada discovering what we in Saskatchewan have always known."

To further increase engagement and drive visitation to the province, Tourism Saskatchewan has introduced new technologies and online capabilities over the last year. Engagement on Tourism Saskatchewan’s consumer website has grown significantly between 2017 and 2018, with a 99.5 per cent increase in page views and average time spent on the site up by 85 per cent.

"Tourism Saskatchewan made a shift to focus on digital marketing strategies in recent years, and this move is paying dividends in visitor engagement and spending,” Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said. "It is gratifying to see that visitors are coming to the province in ever-greater numbers to enjoy our diverse and unique tourism experiences."

Improvements to the consumer website, TourismSaskatchewan.com, include a new interactive map, advanced search capability, re-categorized and revised tourism operator listings, and a new approach to vacation o?erings.

Further enhancements to the website will be introduced in the coming months.