Optimism is the feeling of a number of business owners in the Drumheller Valley.
This is according to the latest Drumheller & Region Business Survey conducted in partnership with Travel Drumheller, Community Futures Big Country, the Drumheller & District Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Drumheller, and MH Enterprises. This survey was an update from one conducted a few years ago, comments Keri Looijen, Marketing Manager for Travel Drumheller. “A few years ago, in 2022, there was a collaboration between the Town (of Drumheller) and Travel Drumheller, and a few other players, that surveyed businesses within the region and got back really valuable information. We just refreshed it and updated it this year, to see where we are in 2025.”
One of the key results from the survey is that 89% of respondents share that their business is sustaining, or thriving, with strong optimism moving forward. This is very exciting news reflects Looijen. “There were really good numbers came out for businesses expecting to maintain or expand operations, which is always very exciting, because that means more employment opportunities.”
There is some great information that can be derived from this survey for Travel Drumheller. “For us at Travel Drumheller, it really shows that tourism is a powerful economic driver,” admits Looijen. “Tourism contributes an estimated 116 million dollars annually in the region’s economy, and supports one in four jobs. Impressively, 92% of businesses view tourism as a positive force, even those that are not directly in the industry.” Looijen notes that in the previous survey in 2022, only one of six jobs were in the tourism industry (18.5 %) compared to 25 % in 2025.
There are some positive results from the survey but a number of businesses continue to face challenges when it comes to the seasonality of tourism shares Looijen. “A lot of the challenges that we have heard about is the seasonality. We are typically known as a summer destination, however we have more events and more attractions that are staying open in the spring and the fall, extending our season.” A couple of other struggles are workforce and housing limitations that businesses continue to deal with. Travel Drumheller continues to work with the Town of Drumheller and Community Futures with the Home Share program to work at alleviating some of the housing shortage issues in the Drumheller Valley.
Travel Drumheller has also partnered with local colleges and high schools with integrated learning programs. “For our pilot project this year we worked with St. Anthony’s School, are hoping to expand with DVSS next year, and had six positions that pulled students from school into work experience where they get credits for their high school diploma, and create impactful work experience in the community.” The hope is to expand to 12 students next year and it is also hoped that those participating in the program and move on to college and university, decide to return to the Drumheller Valley once complete.
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