Banff and Lake Louise brace for more visitors in 2025 as Jasper rebuilds [Video]

The ripple effect of the wildfire that devastated the town of Jasper last summer could continue to reverberate through Alberta’s tourism sector in 2025, industry insiders say.

At the Charming Inns of Alberta — a group of privately owned small inns with locations throughout the province — operators in Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore are preparing for a busier-than-normal summer.

These already-crowded Rocky Mountain destinations could get even more crowded if travellers who would otherwise have visited Jasper look for alternate itineraries instead, said Charming Inns marketing director James Hague.

“Certainly, in 2024, we saw quite a bit of pickup in Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore (due to the Jasper fires),” Hague said.

“And it’s unfortunate, but we would expect a little bit of pickup in 2025 as well.”

Jasper National Park — traditionally Canada’s second-most visited national park and home to attractions like the Columbia Icefield — …