YORKTON -- With the long-standing border closure still ongoing, American hunters are stuck south of the border this season.
Randy Goulden, the executive director with Yorkton Tourism, said fewer hunters will affect the city’s bottom line.
"We see that there is going to be an impact, whether they're purchasing some capital things and equipment, or whether they're staying at our accommodations and eating in our restaurants,” she said. “We know that there's going to be a decrease in that type of expenditures that we're seeing in our city.”
Goulden said the tourism office understands why the American hunters can't come north of the border this year, but they will miss seeing them.
This is also a trend in places outside of Yorkton, said Minister of Environment Warren Kaeding.
He said out-of-country hunting licenses are astronomically low this year. However, there are more locals getting licences, he said.
"Our draws and all of that are fully subscribed and I would say that our hunting numbers are going to be reasonable," Kaeding said.
Inter-provincial tourism was on the rise during the summer months as well, jumping from 20 per cent of tourists to 42 per cent.
"When these restrictions are lifted, we're going to be marketing extensively, so that we can bring these parts of our hospitality and tourism industry back to our city," Goulden said
