Alberta spots featured on ‘The Amazing Race Canada’ helping boost tourism, business

Canmore ready for its closeup on Amazing Race It's homecoming night for a pair of contestants on the Amazing Race. Nicole Di Donato reports.

Canmore is the latest spot in Alberta to be featured on The Amazing Race Canada, helping boost tourism and business in the province.

On Tuesday’s episode, teams race the rapids on the Kananaskis River before hitting the ranch for a test of skill and stamina.

The Alberta Whitewater Association helped set up the whitewater portion of the race and hopes the show will create more exposure for the area and for the sport.

“The Calgary area is a real mecca of whitewater. We’ve got Harvie Passage here, we’ve got the Kananaskis and they’re pretty approachable pieces of whitewater, places to learn and to improve your skills,” executive director Mike Holroyd said.

Canmore mayor Sean Krausert said the town welcomes many filming opportunities but this one is especially exciting because one of the teams is from Canmore — siblings Jesse and Marika.

“When you’re watching shows like this, you’re always trying to figure out who your favourites are, but when you have somebody from your community, they’re automatically your favourite,” he said.

Krausert said the show is a great way to showcase the community.

“It’s kind of fitting that The Amazing Race is here because Canmore is pretty amazing,” he told CTV News.

“It doesn’t only support tourism, it also creates job opportunities, brings in local expertise and contract workers and good paying jobs for local residents.”

While The Amazing Race was only in town for a short time, Krausert said the impact was huge, bringing in an estimated $200,000.

LETHBRIDGE

Canmore isn’t the only place in Alberta benefitting from the exposure. Lethbridge was also featured in an episode on July 12.

“The High Level Bridge was featured and that’s quite an amazing structure and one-of-its-kind in Canada as well as our Fort Whoop-Up. We have a very rich history with our Indigenous populations and Fort-Whoop Up tells a lovely story,” said Sarah Aimes, community director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone.

Aimes said they held a public screening of the episode with Tourism Lethbridge at the new Festival Square downtown, which over 250 people attended.

She said the impact of the city’s appearance in the show is already being felt.

“I think the combination of seeing Lethbridge on The Amazing Race, seeing it being screened in the Festival Square will have nothing but positive outcomes for us,” she said.

WATERTON

Waterton also made an appearance in the show, giving local hot dog joint Wieners of Waterton its close up.

In the episode, which aired last week, teams had to ride a side-by-side bike to Wieners of Waterton, memorize four orders, and then deliver them around the village.

“We were really excited that we were a part of the season and part of the show and that we could make it a little bit challenging for the contestants,” owner Max Low said.

Low said a lot of old and new customers have reached out after seeing them on the show.

“It’s always nice to be able to spread our awareness and get more people to know about us. As a business owner, it’s our lifeblood, you know, marketing and advertising is huge, but this was a fun way to do it,” he said.

“I think that this gave us access to an audience that we would never be able to get as a small business, and as a small business owner, I am just so grateful.”

PROVINCE-WIDE IMPACT

Travel Alberta said featuring different and lesser known regions of the province will have a wide-reaching impact.

“This Amazing Race show is just a fantastic opportunity to put Alberta on the map both in Canada and internationally,” said Tannis Gaffney, chief marketing officer for Travel Alberta.

Gaffney expects this to encourage more people to book trips to Alberta this fall and winter.

“We know Canadians love to come to Alberta and they spend about $500 when they come, but what we’re really looking for is a broader impact than that,” she said.

“We’re hoping that American visitors will see it, international visitors will see it because international and American visitors stay longer and they actually spend more.”

Gaffney said it’s great to see specific experiences and activities being highlighted on the show as well.

“Showcasing an unexpected part of Alberta is actually really great for these tourism businesses and operators that are just trying to get back to normal levels and welcome guests back through their doors.”

Gaffney adds that exposure like this has more than just an impact on tourism — it also has an economic impact.

“When we have a TV show, there’s an opportunity for Canadians to think of Alberta as a place they might want to live or they might want to work, besides just coming for vacation.”