Although the hundreds of millions in economic impact from the Edmonton Oilers’ Stanley Cup run may be tough to overstate, tourism is on the rise in the city for visitors coming to see more than just the ice.

With summer in full swing and the long hockey season concluded, Explore Edmonton says the city’s tourism continues to shine. Apart from hockey, the city’s events, festivals, and concerts continue to attract people to the city, making for a strong visitor economy that local hotels say is already boosting business. And while tariffs take a toll on the nation’s economy, some Canadians seem to be using it as an excuse to explore their own backyard, prompting a bump in Edmonton visitors from Canada while American visitors wane.

“We’ve been doing quite well this year,” said April Kanash, office manager of the Metterra Hotel on Whyte (10454 82 Ave.).

Kanash said the Metterra and its affiliated hotels, the Varscona Hotel on Whyte (8208 106 St.), and the Matrix Hotel Downtown (10640 100 Ave.), were very busy last month, highlighting the impact of the playoffs on business in June.

“Let’s put it this way, we didn’t think we were going to make budget for June, and we exceeded it. So, yeah, we’re happy. I mean, I’m disappointed the Oilers didn’t win. But you know what? Maybe third time will be the charm,” said Kanash.

But it isn’t just the Oilers that drive tourism, according to Kanash. She said the hotel sees a swell in activity whenever there are events in town, whether its the Fringe Festival nearby in August, or a concert.

“If it’s a concert and it’s Edmonton and not Calgary, a lot of times we’re quite busy,” said Kanash, which is the case for next month’s Tate McRae performance at Rogers Place. The pop superstar will forego a performance in her hometown of Calgary for one night in Edmonton on Aug. 7.

The Oilers’ playoff run unsurprisingly brings the single biggest economic impact, bringing an estimated over $260 million into the city. What’s worth noting, however, is that unlike the playoffs, other events don’t run for months at a time, which automatically gives the Oilers an outsized impact. Last year, KDays, the Hydrogen Convention, Animethon and Disney Immersive, which are held over the course of either a single day or roughly a week at a time, combined for a total addition of $44.6 million into the local economy.

Recently, the Volleyball SuperNations hosted at the Expo Centre and the FIBA 3×3 basketball tournament combined for more than $55 million in economic impact to the city, according to Explore Edmonton. The activity has the group feeling “optimistic” about the future of the visitor economy in the city.

“We have the momentum of the recent playoff run on our backs, and then also the year of the Lonely Planet Best in Travel Top 10 City designation. So we’re feeling very optimistic and are excited to see the further positive results it’s going to yield for our visitor economy,” said Michele Fowler, interim marketing accounts director and consumer and business development with Explore Edmonton.

Fowler said the city making it onto the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel List was a significant triumph for the city after some tough criticism in years past.

“It was a huge deal for us, especially just how far we’ve come in the eyes of Lonely Planet. If you look at 2015 reviews of us, they’re not as nice. They are very honest. So just seeing the development of our indigenous tourism experience, our culinary (tourism), the Ice District, that really helped us get there,” said Fowler.

The result, according to Fowler is momentum in the city’s tourism that the group continues to try and maintain in a variety of ways, including billboard campaigns in American cities with direct flights to Edmonton.

Measuring momentum in outsiders’ interest in a city isn’t easy, but one indicator that Explore Edmonton tracks is flight searches. This year, Edmonton saw a more than 76 per cent increase in searches for flights to the city from all markets throughout June compared to last year. The interest in Edmonton is even higher among Canadian travellers, which showed a more than 117 per cent jump in searches compared to last year, which could be partially attributed to the ongoing trade war with the United States.

“I know some people that won’t go now to the States. Now that being said, we are still seeing Americans coming here,” said Kanash, adding “maybe not as much.”

Explore Edmonton’s data indicates a nearly 20 per cent drop in bookings to Edmonton from American cities, but has notably seen a more than 10 per cent increase in bookings compared to last year for travellers coming from other parts of the country, and a 1.4 per cent increase from all markets.

Regardless of what’s bringing people to the city, Fowler said Explore Edmonton just wants to keep visitors coming.

“We’re just really excited about the momentum behind our city right now, and excited for the rest of the world to experience it.”

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