Saskatchewan Tourism Industry

Ever wondered what impact tourism actually has on Saskatchewan? This section provides facts and figures about just this and answers some frequently asked questions. From stats about the number of visits recorded in the province, to the number of people employed by tourism in Saskatchewan, to the amount of money spent in the province because of tourism, this section has it covered.

Fast Facts about Saskatchewan’s Tourism Industry

•    Tourism contributed almost $1.6 billion in total traveller expenditures to the provincial economy in 2008.

•    Tourism is our province’s fourth largest export industry and export sales for 2008 were more than $520 million. This is the money spent in the province by non-resident visitors.

•    Tourism is a significant revenue source for hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, museums, art galleries, parks, outfitters, nightclubs, casinos, sporting events, shopping malls, festivals, craft shops, golf courses, and many other endeavours. In 2008, there were approximately 8.5 million visits to and within Saskatchewan and the average expenditure per person on overnight-or-longer trips grew to $267 (from $170.23 in 2001).

•    There are approximately 4,200 attractions, events, and tourism-related businesses in the province.

•    Tourism provides full- or part-time jobs to more than 54,500 Saskatchewan citizens – that’s one of every 10 workers. Of these, 69% are full-time positions, 36% are in rural and northern Saskatchewan, and 16,000 jobs are wholly supported by tourism.

•    Seven out of 10 workers got their first job in the tourism industry.

•    Tourism encourages entrepreneurship – more than 95 per cent of tourism and tourism-related businesses are small- or medium-sized companies and many are independently owned and operated.

Tourism Saskatchewan

•    The tourism industry in Saskatchewan is represented by Tourism Saskatchewan, an industry-government partnership that works to develop and promote tourism in our province. We represent over 2,000 members and more than 3,500 tourism industry stakeholders.

•    Tourism Saskatchewan is involved in a range of activities aimed at growing the industry, including marketing, development, education, membership and visitor services, research, information technology, and training.

•    The Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC), the education and training branch of Tourism Saskatchewan, delivered training to nearly 4,500 people in 101 communities across the province in 2008/2009.

•    Almost $1.5 million in funding is provided by Tourism Saskatchewan each year to the provincial tourism destination regions for their marketing activities and administration requirements.