With forecasters predicting a mild winter for the National Capital Region, local tourism stakeholders are adjusting course with attractions that don’t rely as heavily on snow or ice.
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With forecasters predicting a mild winter for the National Capital Region, local tourism stakeholders are adjusting course with attractions that don’t rely as heavily on snow or ice.
The Weather Network’s forecast points to a potentially historic El Nino. While the fall will bring the usual swings between warm spells and chilly, stormy weather, the balance of the winter is expected to trend milder and possibly drier than normal.
At the Ottawa Board of Trade’s Infrastructure Forum earlier this month, National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum said the organization is working on a long-term plan to artificially freeze part of the canal, no matter the weather.
“We have this crazy idea of what would it take to refrigerate a kilometre section of the Rideau Canal Skateway so you can go from the NAC to the Somerset Bridge,” he said at the event. “What would it take? We’re talking to partners. It takes a lot of money. It would take commitment from our shareholders. It would probably take some philanthropic funds. But imagine if we could say that you could come to the capital and, for four months of the year, you could skate there, guaranteed.”
According to Nussbaum, climate change has become a top-of-mind issue for the organization.
“We’ve looked at climate change and the impacts on the Canal,” he said at the event. “We’re worried we’re going to have a bad season this year and so we need to start thinking about that. That’s an example of something we need to start putting in the window.”
Brandon Bolduc is the owner and operator of tour company Aventure Outaouais. He said his business is making changes this year as a result of increasingly unpredictable winter conditions.
“This year we're actually no longer offering dog sledding because of the worries for winter,” he said. “It’s just getting harder and harder to be able to offer dog sledding here in the National Capital Region due to mild winters, unpredictable weather and freezing rain."
According to Bolduc, dog sledding has very specific needs. The snow on the trail cannot be too light, too heavy, too sticky or too icy. He added that, because of conditions over the past few years paired with economic challenges, the activity has become increasingly expensive to offer.
“It became a point where we just couldn’t feel comfortable asking our clients to pay that price,” he said, adding that while cutting the offering will be a major loss, Bolduc said he plans to make up for it in other ways.
“It's $100,000 or so in revenue that we're going to be losing out on, but it allows us to refocus on what really matters to us and really what it is is to offer affordable tours,” he said.
Bolduc said the company will double down on its other major winter offering, a snowshoeing tour that takes participants to a cabin in Gatineau Park for a meal. Overall, he said the tour is less susceptible to weather.
"Snowshoeing is a little bit less risky, just because essentially we can do crampons or snowshoes,” he said. “We don't need a lot of snow to operate the tour and clients are not necessarily doing the tour because of the snow. They're doing the tour because it's at night. It's the experience of being nocturnal in the park and having dinner in the cabin. The snow is an added benefit.”
While the weather might impact the company’s ability to offer certain services, Bolduc added that milder winters also hurt overall tourism numbers, leading to fewer last-minute travellers.
“People won't come to Ottawa if there's no snow,” he said. “Events don't happen. The Rideau Canal doesn't open.”
Despite the predictions, Bolduc said he’s optimistic. “In the summertime, I say, ‘Rain or shine, we got wine,’” he said. “Well, you know what? Snow or no snow, we'll just have a blast, honestly, and that will just be our motto this winter.”
Ottawa’s biggest winter offering, Winterlude, has also been impacted by changing weather patterns in recent years. As a result, organizer Canadian Heritage has expanded its offering to “stay current with the latest trends,” while keeping on top of weather conditions. In addition to outdoor activities, the festival has expanded urban offerings to provide more options that don’t rely on snow and ice.
A year-round consideration
While the effects are most obvious in winter, climate change has become a factor for tourism organizations to consider year-round, said Jerome Miousse, director of public affairs at Ottawa Tourism.
“We're talking about winter but really climate change is affecting every single season,” he told OBJ. “We have more severe weather incidents and it is affecting destinations across the country and I would even say the world. Ottawa is no stranger to that.”
While mild temperatures can attract more tourists, Miousse said that when the weather is too warm, Ottawa’s most iconic attractions can’t operate. The Rideau Canal Skateway, which has had two successful seasons back-to-back, is the biggest concern.
“It’s an iconic part of the Ottawa experience and very important to our city’s winter identity,” he said. “It’s definitely on a lot of people’s bucket list when they think about Ottawa.”
Because tourism cannot rely on one attraction, Miousse said the goal in recent years has been to diversify winter offerings, providing a mix of cultural, artistic, culinary, sports and business attractions and experiences.
“Our focus is generally on strengthening the resilience of our visitor economy and you do that by ensuring that there are compelling reasons to visit in every single season and also under a wide range of conditions,” he said. “If it's very hot, if it's very cold, if it's very windy, if it's snowy, rainy, we need to be able to have an offer that's complete and that will be compelling to people, regardless of that weather."
The NCC, which is responsible for the Skateway, has also found a way to diversify. Last August, the organization put out a request for proposals for a floating sauna near the NCC River House. On Monday, the organization confirmed that Saunoa will offer a sauna and cold plunge experience starting next month. The facility will operate year-round, according to the company’s website.
