Officials say it was a great year for Sault tourism

Sault Ste. Marie’s tourism department says the local industry has rebounded to above pre-pandemic levels. Officials say even with fewer American visitors, tourism revenue has grown, due in large part to a spike in domestic tourism.

In turn, that’s driving an increase in Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) revenues.

“For our MAT revenues here, we’ve collected just over $1.4 million, with November and December still to report,” said Alana Kenopic, tourism manager.

“That money gets turned back into the tourism community through our marketing efforts and product development. So, the more that’s collected through the MAT revenue, the better off we’ll be.”

According to Sault’s chamber of commerce, that jump in domestic tourism has been beneficial to the local hospitality industry.

“When you take a look at the Agawa Train tour, that roughly is $7 million of revenue brought into the community over a space of six weeks,” said President Rory Ring.

“We’ve heard very positive feedback from the hotel industry, but also the food service.”

Meantime, tourism officials said they will be ramping up marketing south of the border in an effort to bring more American visitors back to Sault Ste. Marie in the New Year.