'It's critical': Town of Banff reopens to visitors after pandemic forces tourists to stay away
After months of telling visitors to stay home and stay away, officials and business owners in Banff are swinging open their doors and welcoming visitors back to the mountain town.
Mayor Karen Sorenson says Banff is now in a safe position to bring in tourists to its hotels, restaurants and streets.
"My message is that we are very pleased to be welcoming our neighbours back," Sorenson said.
It's a different message from Sorenson now than a month ago, when people were told to stay out of Banff as COVID-19 cases soared.
But the mayor says about 85 per cent of people in the Banff and Lake Louise area have received at least one dose of the vaccine and active cases in the townsite are down to just three.
Sorenson is hoping for a strong summer after many months of business closures.
"It's been devastating for our community, our economy depends on tourism. We are a municipality within a national park in order to serve our visitors," she said.
"That's our reason for being."
A busy summer for tourism in Banff "critical" in helping hurting businesses survive, she added.
The town is still enforcing all provincial public health measures and has its own bylaw that requires masks be worn in some outdoor areas and streets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.