File photo of Retrofest in Chatham. (Photo via Chatham BIA)File photo of Retrofest in Chatham. (Photo via Chatham BIA)
Chatham

Mixed tourism trends in CK

Chatham-Kent Council is about to get a lesson on the $64 million local tourism industry.

An update on the CK tourism sector is set for the Council meeting Monday night to detail initiatives to support the local tourism industry and to outline supports provided by Chatham-Kent Tourism to sector operators in 2024 along with key tourism trends.

CK Supervisor of Tourism Development Shannon Paiva is reporting tourism spending is up, but so are employment vacancies in the tourism industry.

Statistics Canada said tourism spending in Canada grew 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, following a 1.4 per cent increase in the first quarter as both international and domestic tourism spending increased.

In 2023, tourism spending rose 13.5 per cent after an increase of 50.4 per cent in 2022, according to the statistics.

Paiva said Chatham-Kent tourism operators reported having difficulty attracting and retaining staff in the tourism and hospitality sector, often leaving them challenged to operate consistent business hours.

She also noted a lack of hotel space continues to be a challenge as Chatham-Kent grows in population and brings in visiting friends and relatives to the many festivals, events, and tourism sites.

Environics analytics provided by the Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation show Canadians logged 610,930 trips to Chatham-Kent in 2023 with an average stay of 2.3 nights per trip. The numbers show 92 per cent of those trips were made by Ontarians, which is down 13.6 per cent from 2022. However, the municipality is on track to see a 1.4 per cent increase in 2024.

During the same time, Americans logged 112,748 trips to Chatham-Kent with an average stay of 3.2 nights per trip, which is a longer stay than usual.

August and July are the busiest months for trips to Chatham-Kent with the annual return of summer events and festivals, followed by December for Canadians and October for Americans, according to Environics.

Read More Local Stories

OPP cruiser with lights flashing. (Photo courtesy of @OPP_Hire via Twitter)

Spiking OPP costs on province's radar

The province is proposing to provide over $77 million in financial relief to municipalities to help offset the increased cost of municipal police services provided by the OPP.