COVID-19 and closure of the international border appear to be striking hard at Sault Ste. Marie's hospitality sector.
The latest room occupancy statistics, released Thursday at a meeting of the Sault Ste. Marie Tourism Board, show sharp reductions since the pandemic emergency was declared in March.
In April, just 17.9 per cent of local rooms were occupied, compared to 50.4 per cent last year.
The following month, the local occupancy rate was 22.8 per cent, compared to 52.7 per cent for the same month in 2019.
In March, when the emergency was declared mid-month, 35.0 per cent of rooms were occupied.
The comparable figure for March, 2019 was 51.2 per cent.
Prior to the pandemic declaration, room occupanies in January and February had been within a single percentage point of the previous year's numbers.
The average daily rate for a room in Sault Ste. Marie in May was $95.22, down from $109.79 in May, 2019.
Revenue per available room was $21.71, compared to $57.88 the previous year.
This week, City Council agreed to waive all interest and penalties on municipal accommodation tax remittances until the end of 2020.
The pandemic has virtually eliminated all 2020 major events in Sault Ste. Marie.
The following, as presented at Thursday's tourism board meeting, is the latest status report on next year's event prospects, complete with estimated participant numbers:
- Janurary - Canadian Snowcross Racing Association Snowcross (tentative/ in discussion) 500 participants
- February - G3 Winter Fat Bike Race (confirmed) 50 participants
- February - Sault Ski Runners Mealy Classic (annual) 75 participants
- February - Ontario Cup Nordic Skiing (tentative/ in discussion) participant count to be determined
- March - U12 Ringette Championships (confirmed) 500 participants
- April - Ontario Basketball Championships (status unknown, cancelled in 2020) 500 participants
- April - 3 on 3 Open Ice Hockey Challenge (confirmed) 150
- May - Nordik Institute C2U Expo (unknown, cancelled in 2020) 400 participants
- June - Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (tentative/renewed annually) 1500 participants
- June - Du283 Duathlon (confirmed) 50 participants
- June - Memorial Cup (bid submitted) participant count to be determined
- July - Native Early Childhood Education Conference Batchewana (confirmed/ postponed from 2020) - 240 participants
- July - Rally North America Car Rally (confirmed) 120 participants
- July - O Cup Mountain Bike Race (tentative/in discussion) 100 participants
- August - Senior Men's Golf Championships (unknown/cancelled in 2020) 150 participants
- August - Algoma Fish and Game Walleye Tournament (unknown/cancelled in 2020) 100 participants
- August - Crank the Shield (confirmed) 175 participants
- September - Shriners Convention (confirmed) 800 participants
- October - Jeepers Creepers Fall Jeep Rally (tentative/in discussion) 100 participants
- October - Ultra Trail Stokely Creek Year 2.5 (confirmed) 250 participants
On the positive side, the tourism board learned that a construction contract for work on the Algoma Trail Network is expected to be signed by the end of this month.
Four companies bid on the job.
Construction of the new mountain bike trails is expected to start in late September or early October.
Five kilometres of trail will be completed this year.
Another 15 kilometres will be built next year.
Developed through a partnership with Sault Cycling Club, the Algoma Trail Network will eventually consist of 100 kilometres of multi-use mountain bike trails extending from inside the city limits into surrounding areas of Algoma District.
