Other provinces represented include 22 per cent from Alberta, six per cent from British Columbia, six per cent from Manitoba, two per cent from Ontario and one per cent from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
This is according to the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce, who submitted the numbers to the City of Humboldt during a report presented to council in December.
“2021 continued to be strongly affected by the dramatic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Brent Fitzpatrick, executive director for the chamber.
“Uncertainty centred around interprovincial travel, let alone international, thus creating a downward turn in our campsite rentals.”
While the pandemic caused a decrease in visitors in general, Fitzpatrick said workers staying in the region for construction jobs have resulted in a slight pickup. Particularly, he noted that they were “fortunate” to have the company who was building the new Pattison Ag building out of town staying at the side.
For greater convenience, the company offered to install a new high capacity septic tank between sites 12 and 13. The project, approved by the city’s planning department, will allow the campsite to have two sites that can be used seasonally without the necessity to move the camper at any time.
“By the end of the year, we were flat to 2020, which was also a year of challenges for the campground and tourist information booth.”
Long-term maintenance for staff at the campground involved cutting down nearly 48 old trees in the past two years, many overshadowing sites that have been identified as a potential danger should strong winds come streaming through. In addition, during the year all of the picnic tables, power pedestals and site marker poles were cleaned up and painted.
“In addition, we enjoyed sharing our site and the adventures it provides with the Humboldt Scout Troop, the Public School Daycare, along other youth organizations,” Fitzpatrick said. “To have these large groups of children, running in our campground, enjoying nature in a safe, fun and educational manner was quite fulfilling.”
He noted that their optimism is high for an improved business return for 2022 thanks to continued vaccination efforts, but the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce are also highly cautious to the volatility of the marketplace with “caution” being the keyword of the new year.
