'Big crunch summer' expected as labour shortage strains Jasper's tourism industry
CBC
A labour shortage in Jasper has cooks emerging from the kitchen to wait tables, office managers vacating their desks to scrub lobby floors and hotel toilets.
With COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, international visitors are expected to return to the Rockies in droves. But hotels, restaurants and bars are struggling to get enough workers on the job to keep those travellers fed, housed and entertained.
Service workers are already doing double — even triple — duty to contend with a lack of manpower in the mountain town, said Pattie Pavlov, executive director of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce.
And there is little relief in sight.
"It's a serious problem," she said. "We totally see this as a big crunch summer."
Jasper's chronic labour shortage is being compounded by a pandemic-driven loss of seasonal workers and an ongoing accommodation deficit.
Housing is expensive and hard to come by. Constraints on construction in the national park mean Jasper's footprint hasn't kept up with the growth, especially when the population balloons each summer.
"The market is not wide open in that regard, and it is very expensive," she said.
Most job offers come with the offer of housing, either in shared apartments or dedicated staff suites, but those accommodations have been nearing capacity for years, Pavlov said.
It's at the point where many unfilled positions aren't even being posted, she said.
"It's buzzing and people are getting ready and prepared," she said about the looming summer season. "They're just wishing they had more people to be prepared with."
With housing demand continuing to outstrip supply, some businesses simply don't have the space for new employees, Pavlov said.
Those pressures are being felt at Bear's Paw Bakery, where customers often line the sidewalk for plump cinnamon rolls and piping hot coffee.
The housing shortage is not new but it's getting worse, said general manager Mircel Randall, one of many Jasper workers who have struggled to find affordable accommodation in town.
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