Canada tourism fears bigger, badder wildfires coming

Montreal: Images of towering wildfires tearing through forests and leaving a national park in cinders have kept many tourists away, putting one of Can...

Montreal: Images of towering wildfires tearing through forests and leaving a national park in cinders have kept many tourists away, putting one of Canada's top industries on edge.

The nation has been ranked among the top 12 destinations worldwide for its stunning displays of nature and cultural mosaic.

But 2023 saw megafires scorch a record amount of forests and displace 200,000 residents.

This year has been less intense with fewer fires causing much less damage, still large swathes of Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies were ravaged by fires, closing it to tourists and provoking a deep sadness among Canadians.

Fires swept through the park in the middle of its key summer tourism season. It usually welcomes about 2.5 million visitors each year from across Canada and abroad. Since July, few people have been permitted to visit the area for safety reasons while popular tourist activities were suspended.