INSIGHTS
Fernie offers a breadth of experiences throughout the year.
Fernie Alpine Resort, trails, river access and world-class lodges are core visitor experiences.
The Fernie experience is more than just scenery and activities. It includes the local culture, history and authentic feel.
The origin of winter visitors continues to be diverse and almost 50 % is international or long-haul.
Visitor Surveys conducted by Tourism Fernie have continually shown that 95-98 % of the visitors surveyed 1) visited historic downtown, 2) would recommend Fernie to others and would return if possible, 3) had their expectations met.
Alberta continues to be a critical market for Fernie and especially in the summer when visitation is more regional short-haul.
The long-haul European market that have been travelling to popular locations such as Banff are a growing target audience for Fernie, especially once international travel restrictions ease.
SITUATION ANALYSIS & KEY INSIGHTS
TOURISM EXPERIENCES & THE VISITORS
The extent of things to do for both visitors and locals are vast yet fluctuate and change between the seasons. Fernie Alpine Resort, Island Lake Catskiing and FWA Catskiing are core winter assets drawing in visitors from near and far while recent and significant growth has been seen with snowmobiling and Nordic skiing. During summer season visitation is driven primarily by those wanting to experience local valley / mountain trails and parks on foot or mountain bike, activities on the Elk River such as fly fishing, rafting and SUP, casual town exploration and mountain sightseeing, and big festivals and events. The emergence of new and more tourism-oriented experiences including spa and wellness, arts and culture, culinary and destination weddings are not only increasing during summer and winter but also shoulder seasons. Without all these critical assets, and the lodging, retail and services to accommodate the demand, multi-season visitation could not be achieved.
Fernie’ s attractiveness is more than just one activity, event, business or story however. A community this rich in history, people and culture compels visitors looking for something more than the mass market resort.
Explore TourismFernie. com to see the extent of visitor information for trip inspiration and planning.
OUR GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS
Fernie’ s overnight visitors are a mix of both short and long-haul markets in winter, with a noticeable shift to short-haul markets in the summer months and shoulder seasons. Visitors from Alberta make a significant contribution to the visitor mix year-round thanks to their close proximity and their growing desire to explore mountain towns less busy than Banff and Canmore. It must be noted that COVID-19 has impacted this geographic mix in 2020 due to the travel restrictions.
Overnight Visitors- Visitor Origin( Source: TF Visitor Surveys 2013-2015) Winter
Summer
AB |
50 % |
62 % |
UK |
12 % |
2 % |
Aus / NZ |
8 % |
1 % |
ON / East |
10 % |
5 % |
Europe |
4 % |
2 % |
BC |
6 % |
13 % |
SK / MB |
6 % |
9 % |
USA- short haul |
2 % |
4 % |
USA- long haul |
2 % |
2 % |