How can your destination or business prepare for emergencies that disrupt tourism? 

In July 2024, significant wildfires reached the townsite of Jasper, Alberta, located in the Rocky Mountains and Jasper National Park in Canada. The fires endangered lives and ultimately destroyed many homes and businesses. Tourism came to a standstill during what is normally a busy time for international visitors in Jasper. Roughly 25,000 people were evacuated, including Jasper’s 5,000 residents and the 20,000 visitors located in town and scattered across the backcountry. For residents, the evacuation lasted roughly five weeks. Visitors were not permitted to return for an additional four weeks, when the state of emergency was lifted.

Tourism Jasper is the destination marketing and stewardship organization representing Jasper’s tourism industry. The organization’s effective evacuation planning was critical to keeping DMO staff safe in the initial moments of the emergency, while crisis management strategies have assisted during the ongoing recovery. At Destination Think, we spoke with Tyler Riopel, CEO at Tourism Jasper, to better understand the challenges he, his organization, and local businesses have faced. What follows are key takeaways and lessons that can help your tourism organization prepare for times of crisis.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

These takeaways provide insight into the actions Tourism Jasper took and the challenges they faced during the wildfire emergency and its aftermath.  

1. Immediate Crisis Response

• Evacuation protocols: An up-to-date office evacuation plan helped everyone in the organization leave promptly following an evacuation order and allowed Tourism Jasper to track and ensure the safety of all staff members. By luck, Tyler says, the team had just reviewed the office evacuation plan the morning before, as the risk was building to a concerning point. Jasper had experienced 12 days of hot, dry weather before the fires caused an evacuation.
• Remote leadership was essential: Out-of-town staff formed a work group. With much of the Tourism Jasper team evacuating, remote staff played a critical role in maintaining operational capacity and managing crisis communications. However, it was difficult to coordinate the team after evacuation and ensure a consistent leadership structure. 
• Communication protocols: “Stay in your lane.” Tourism Jasper’s public communications mainly played an amplification role during the crisis. They shared facts about the emergency only from trusted, official sources, which included Parks Canada, the municipality, and provincial emergency services. They also published a holding message on the website and social media channels, urging compassion and patience. (See Instagram.)

2. Challenges in Crisis Management

• Communication barriers: Reaching backcountry visitors was difficult. This is one reason why it’s essential for everyone staying in the backcountry to be registered with, in this case, Parks Canada. July is also a time when many international visitors come to Jasper. Addressing language differences is a challenge, as is expressing a true sense of urgency. People do not want their vacations to be disrupted.
• Infrastructure dependency: Damage to essential infrastructure, such as power lines, underscored the vulnerability of the destination’s operations.
• Ability to return to work: “The spectrum of loss is so broad,” says Tyler. Many team members were not able to work during the crisis and its immediate aftermath, whether for physical (location) or emotional reasons. It was vital to clarifying expectations as a leadership team and remain responsive to the needs of employees.
• Loss of revenue: Tourism Jasper faced financial strain, which added to the challenges of maintaining operations and planning recovery efforts.
• Impacts on the wider tourism network: The acute emergency was located in Jasper National Park, but its impacts were felt far beyond. Several places across Alberta and British Columbia hosted evacuees. Evacuation and news from Jasper disrupted visitation to Banff National Park, a three-hour drive from the fire. The evacuation also disrupted and put strain on international tour operators extending back to incoming cruise ships in Vancouver. 

3. Recovery

• Business interruption insurance: The experience highlighted potential gaps in Tourism Jasper’s existing coverage because their business interruption insurance claim was denied, the argument being that Tourism Jasper’s offices were left intact by the fire and therefore business was not impacted. Organizations may benefit from reviewing their insurance policies.
• Learning from Maui and Waterton Lakes: Senior leadership sought insights from destinations that had experienced similar challenges following fires. For example, in Waterton Lakes National Park, also in Alberta, a main campground was rendered inaccessible by fire for three years, though the campground was not damaged. The road wasn’t made a priority by authorities, which hindered visitation. A similar scenario was avoided in Jasper. From Maui, Tourism Jasper learned about the reputational risks that surround re-opening.
• Tourism Jasper’s support for local businesses: Efforts included direct, one-on-one outreach to businesses to understand their needs and offer support to help them navigate the crisis. Relational skillsets (or “soft skills”) have been even more important than usual.

LESSONS FOR TOURISM PROFESSIONALS

1. Plan beyond evacuation: Preparing a path to recovery is just as critical as planning an effective emergency response. However, the recovery period is a much larger and more complex challenge to navigate, given the scope and variety of impacts to the tourism industry and destination. DMOs may need to map scenarios and strategize. Ensure your DMO’s crisis planning accounts for post-evacuation operations, including leadership continuity and team coordination.
2. Recognize your role in the wider tourism ecosystem: Crisis communication plans need to account for potential impacts on travel reputation across the larger network, including neighbouring destinations and travel trade.
3. Collaborate widely: Foster relationships with local authorities, destination management organizations, and emergency services to build a network of support that can provide financial, logistical, and strategic assistance during crises.
4. Communicate strategically: Follow and amplify trusted, official sources for public messaging, and maintain transparency and compassion when addressing stakeholders.
5. Review insurance coverage: Evaluate business interruption insurance policies to ensure adequate protection against revenue losses from operational downtime due to external crises.

We would like to thank Banff & Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) and CEO Leslie Bruce for their support in creating this resource in solidarity with Jasper residents, tourism businesses, and all those affected by the emergency and its aftermath. BLLT is a founding member of the Destination Think Collective, a peer group of ambitious, forward-thinking destinations working toward a better future for travel and the planet. Members represent places like Jasper, Cape Breton, Seattle, Copenhagen, Queenstown Lakes, and several more. We are also grateful to Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau and Waterton Lakes Chamber of Commerce for sharing their insights on wildfire recovery with Tourism Jasper.