Tourism year off to "good" start.

• Author: GOULIQUER, DIANNE
• Position: Thunder Bay - Statistical Data Included

The hotel occupancy rate in Thunder Bay for the first quarter of 2001 indicates the year is off to a good start, and officials with the city's tourism department say it may be a sign of things to come.

"It's a good way to start the year," Patricia Forrest, manager of Tourism Thunder Bay, says. "You're traditionally starting the year a little behind because the numbers are weakest in January and February, so it's an excellent way to start the year."

By the end of March, the city's convention hotels had recorded a 4.8 per cent improvement in occupancy over the first three months of 2000.

To date, the hotels have an overall occupancy of 62.8 per cent, compared to 58 per cent last year.

Forrest says March has been the strongest month of the quarter, showing a 6.4 per cent improvement, followed by February with a 5.0 per cent improvement and January with a 3.1 per cent improvement.

"I would say probably the heavy snowfall (was a big factor), so there were more outdoor recreation-type activities like skiing and snowmobiling (drawing in tourists)" she says.

Overall tourism numbers for 2000 were only slightly higher - about two per cent - than the previous year, Forrest notes, but the number of American tourists continues to fall below expectations.

"We're actually not showing increases in Americans at this time. It was about the same in January, it was lower in February and those are the only figures we have. But the value of the dollar, even though we've been pushing that extensively, does not seem to be as compelling a message as one might have thought. It's a factor, but overall it doesn't appear to be the compelling reason for an American to visit Canada."

Forrest says she expects Thunder Bay will see a good summer in terms of tourism. The season will also get a boost when the city hosts the Michigan Outdoor. Writers in June.

"We are expecting millions of dollars in exposure as a result of that (event)," she says.

The city's second annual International Tai Chi Festival, which last year drew crowds from around the world, will also be a high-light of the summer.

One event that will not return this summer, however, is the Thunder in the Air Show at the Thunder Bay International Airport.

After only six years, the two-day event featuring an air show and static displays has been grounded due to poor attendance numbers.

In an attempt to save the show, officials say it will run every other year beginning in the summer of 2002.

"This was a business...