The Town of Sundre is poised for the third year in a row to set a new record number of visitors.
Mike Beukeboom, president of the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce, recently told the Round Up following the organization's last meeting before the summer break that the tally of people to come through the doors at the Visitor Information Centre is already slightly ahead of last year's number at roughly the same time. About 4,500 people came through the centre's doors last year, which was already an increase of about 500 over 2015, the chamber website says.
Beukeboom attributes that increase in part to a growing population in the Calgary region ó which includes satellite urban centres such as Okotoks and Airdrie ó that has seen the number of people reach about 1.4 million.
"There's a real demand for new recreational activities to get away from the city."
The traditional tourist hotspots in the Rocky Mountains have become so mainstream that not only are crowds increasingly voluminous, but even Alberta Tourism has ceased advertising the parks, he said, adding the provincial organization is actually looking for new outdoor recreational avenues to promote.
Discussions to explore the potential of developing aboriginal tourism in the Sundre area have been underway, and members of the chamber even embarked on a medicine walk with representatives from Painted Warriors and Mahikan Trails. The initial idea has been to brainstorm the possibility of establishing an interpretive nature trek to teach people about plants and flowers in the area along a path near the Visitor Information Centre, he said.
"We are now looking at offering those tours this summer. We hope to have it running within the next few weeks."
Details about the new program, which would be available to tourists as well as residents through the Visitor Information Centre, are still being determined and will be made public once firmed up, he said.
"We're really excited about that."
The chamber of commerce also continues to pursue a similar yet different endeavour with an educational boardwalk. Work is ongoing to formalize a trail, and Beukeboom said he planned to have some informal discussions with local Fish and Wildlife officials about potential paths.
When he spoke with the Round Up on Friday, June 30, the chamber president said he hoped that trail could start being cleared this fall so by next spring it could become available to the public, including the local schools as well as seniors. The goal will be to make the trail "100 per cent barrier free" to reconnect with nature anyone and everyone who is interested.
"This will double what the Visitor Information Centre is doing not only for the community but for visitors as well."
