Alberta spots featured on ‘The Amazing Race Canada’ helping boost tourism, business
Canmore is the latest spot in Alberta to be featured on The Amazing Race Canada, helping boost tourism and business in the province.
On Tuesday’s episode, teams race the rapids on the Kananaskis River before hitting the ranch for a test of skill and stamina.
The Alberta Whitewater Association helped set up the whitewater portion of the race and hopes the show will create more exposure for the area and for the sport.
“The Calgary area is a real mecca of whitewater. We’ve got Harvie Passage here, we’ve got the Kananaskis and they’re pretty approachable pieces of whitewater, places to learn and to improve your skills,” executive director Mike Holroyd said.
Canmore mayor Sean Krausert said the town welcomes many filming opportunities but this one is especially exciting because one of the teams is from Canmore — siblings Jesse and Marika.
“When you’re watching shows like this, you’re always trying to figure out who your favourites are, but when you have somebody from your community, they’re automatically your favourite,” he said.
Krausert said the show is a great way to showcase the community.
Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said the town welcomes many filming opportunities but this one is especially exciting because one of the teams is from Canmore — siblings Jesse and Marika.
“It’s kind of fitting that The Amazing Race is here because Canmore is pretty amazing,” he told CTV News.
“It doesn’t only support tourism, it also creates job opportunities, brings in local expertise and contract workers and good paying jobs for local residents.”
While The Amazing Race was only in town for a short time, Krausert said the impact was huge, bringing in an estimated $200,000.
LETHBRIDGE
Canmore isn’t the only place in Alberta benefitting from the exposure. Lethbridge was also featured in an episode on July 12.
“The High Level Bridge was featured and that’s quite an amazing structure and one-of-its-kind in Canada as well as our Fort Whoop-Up. We have a very rich history with our Indigenous populations and Fort-Whoop Up tells a lovely story,” said Sarah Aimes, community director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone.
Aimes said they held a public screening of the episode with Tourism Lethbridge at the new Festival Square downtown, which over 250 people attended.
She said the impact of the city’s appearance in the show is already being felt.
“I think the combination of seeing Lethbridge on The Amazing Race, seeing it being screened in the Festival Square will have nothing but positive outcomes for us,” she said.
WATERTON
Waterton also made an appearance in the show, giving local hot dog joint Wieners of Waterton its close up.
In the episode, which aired last week, teams had to ride a side-by-side bike to Wieners of Waterton, memorize four orders, and then deliver them around the village.
“We were really excited that we were a part of the season and part of the show and that we could make it a little bit challenging for the contestants,” owner Max Low said.
Low said a lot of old and new customers have reached out after seeing them on the show.
“It’s always nice to be able to spread our awareness and get more people to know about us. As a business owner, it’s our lifeblood, you know, marketing and advertising is huge, but this was a fun way to do it,” he said.
“I think that this gave us access to an audience that we would never be able to get as a small business, and as a small business owner, I am just so grateful.”
PROVINCE-WIDE IMPACT
Travel Alberta said featuring different and lesser known regions of the province will have a wide-reaching impact.
“This Amazing Race show is just a fantastic opportunity to put Alberta on the map both in Canada and internationally,” said Tannis Gaffney, chief marketing officer for Travel Alberta.
Gaffney expects this to encourage more people to book trips to Alberta this fall and winter.
“We know Canadians love to come to Alberta and they spend about $500 when they come, but what we’re really looking for is a broader impact than that,” she said.
“We’re hoping that American visitors will see it, international visitors will see it because international and American visitors stay longer and they actually spend more.”
Gaffney said it’s great to see specific experiences and activities being highlighted on the show as well.
“Showcasing an unexpected part of Alberta is actually really great for these tourism businesses and operators that are just trying to get back to normal levels and welcome guests back through their doors.”
Gaffney adds that exposure like this has more than just an impact on tourism — it also has an economic impact.
“When we have a TV show, there’s an opportunity for Canadians to think of Alberta as a place they might want to live or they might want to work, besides just coming for vacation.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Prime Minister Trudeau to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has landed in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday evening to meet with U.S.-president elect Donald Trump, sources confirm to CTV News.
'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!': Details emerge in Boeing 737 incident at Montreal airport
New details suggest that there were communication issues between the pilots of a charter flight and the control tower at Montreal's Mirabel airport when a Boeing 737 made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
Hit man offered $100,000 to kill Montreal crime reporter covering his trial
Political leaders and press freedom groups on Friday were left shell-shocked after Montreal news outlet La Presse revealed that a hit man had offered $100,000 to have one of its crime reporters assassinated.
Questrade lays off undisclosed number of employees
Questrade Financial Group Inc. says it has laid off an undisclosed number of employees to better fit its business strategy.
Cucumbers sold in Ontario, other provinces recalled over possible salmonella contamination
A U.S. company is recalling cucumbers sold in Ontario and other Canadian provinces due to possible salmonella contamination.
Billboard apologizes to Taylor Swift for video snafu
Billboard put together a video of some of Swift's achievements and used a clip from Kanye West's music video for the song 'Famous.'
Musk joins Trump and family for Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago
Elon Musk had a seat at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago, joining President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump and their 18-year-old son.
John Herdman resigns as head coach of Toronto FC
John Herdman, embroiled in the drone-spying scandal that has dogged Canada Soccer, has resigned as coach of Toronto FC.
Weekend weather: Parts of Canada could see up to 50 centimetres of snow, wind chills of -40
Winter is less than a month away, but parts of Canada are already projected to see winter-like weather.