Nine teams tore around Calgary solving clues and profiling the city for the adventure show Amazing Race Canada.
Our city is getting a lot of attention lately, from the Junos to the opening of Studio Bell, from the filming of Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant to the upcoming Calgary Stampede. Now Calgary is a TV star too.
“You know, we love those kinds of opportunities, because you are right, they say our name, Calgary, all over, everybody watches, they get to see what we have to offer in this city,” said Cindy Ady, CEO, Tourism Calgary. “You can’t buy that kind of advertising, and we are thrilled.”
The teams arrived in Calgary by bus from Jasper and were welcomed by Mayor Naheed Nenshi with the first clue: find the Wonderland sculpture at the Bow building. Competitors faced challenges that showcased the city’s major landmarks, like rappelling down the Calgary Tower, finding the Beatnik Bus, catching trout at the Sam Livingston Fish hatchery and finding their way to Studio Bell.
The exposure is great for Calgary and will help attract visitors at a time when tourist dollars are really needed.
“We are really looking at attracting right now that regional Calgary traveler as well as Calgarians and those who haven’t made their vacation plans,” said Ady. “A lot of people are making their vacation plans really late this year, and so we think it’s going to remind them of what there is to do in Calgary, why they should come here.”
Tourism is big business in Calgary. The city sees eight million visitors per year, a $1.7 billion injection into the economy, according to Tourism Calgary.
For now, the competitors on Amazing Race Canada are on their way to Vietnam for the next leg of their journey, and hopefully have left behind a great impression of Calgary for viewers across the country.
