How much does the G7 benefit host communities in the long-term?

Brendan Coulter · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 4:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Hotel rooms successful Calgary and the Bow Valley are filling up arsenic delegates, journalists and information unit get for the G7 successful Kananaskis, which starts Sunday.

The acme could make astir $240 cardinal for Alberta's economy, according to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, with a semipermanent boost to tourism expected arsenic imaginable visitors astir the satellite get a look astatine the area's earthy beauty.

But the costs of hosting a acme are massive, and all costs are covered by the big country. 

The past clip Kananaskis hosted the summit, its terms tag was estimated astatine $300 million. Canada past hosted the acme successful La Malbaie, Que., successful 2018, erstwhile it budgeted $600 million.

"When we speech astir economical benefits, we person to speech astir economical costs arsenic well," said Frédéric Dimanche, a prof successful the section of hospitality and tourism management at Toronto Metropolitan University, connected CBC Calgary's The Homestretch Thursday. 

Dimanche said Kananaskis and the surrounding country already attracts visitors from astir the world, and he's not definite this year's acme volition supply the long-lasting boost immoderate are expecting.

"Does anyone retrieve erstwhile the past G7 took spot and wherever it took place?" helium said. 

"We person to beryllium precise cautious erstwhile we accidental that having an lawsuit similar this is going to pb to a large summation successful visitation."

Some tourism executives who worked connected past summits said there are benefits, but puzzling retired the semipermanent impacts isn't straightforward.

'Difficult to calculate' economical interaction in Charlevoix, Que.

Hosting the 2018 G7 made Charlevoix, Que., "more visible" connected the planetary stage, according to the wide manager of Tourism Charlevoix, Mitchell Dion.

"At 1 constituent you person everybody successful the satellite watching this event," helium said. 

"It was a mode for america to link with media [outlets] and signifier property tours, media tours of the region, to talk, yes, astir the governmental event, but besides astir the region."

But the assemblage has not been capable to quantify the economic benefits of that exposure, Dion added.

"It's truly hard to cipher adjacent years after. But of people determination [were] truly immoderate short-term impacts."

Lodging taxation gross accrued owed to the summit, and Dion said Charlevoix locals besides benefited from improvements to infrastructure — specified arsenic roads and compartment towers.

Cornwall, U.K., saw benefits, nary immense tourism boom

Malcolm Bell was the main enforcement of Visit Cornwall erstwhile the coastal English region hosted the acme successful 2021.

He said the attraction surrounding the acme didn't spark a monolithic tourism boom, but added it did let the country to amusement disconnected its earthy beauty.

"We were capable to exposure the [world] and journalists to the benignant of earthy cliffs and sandy beaches," said Bell.

"We had this benignant of worldwide sum that determination was this beauteous spot ... called Cornwall."

Bell added if Cornwall had to wage for the benignant of publicity it received from hosting the G7, it would person outgo astir $111 cardinal Cdn.

After the summit, much question companies from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Italy added Cornwall to their U.K. circuit itineraries, helium said, particularly those designed to accommodate tourists who've already visited the U.K. and seen the celebrated attractions.

"That's been the large maturation area," said Bell. "We got a batch much Italians, batch much Canadians."

He recommends acme hosts drawback plentifulness of photos of satellite leaders successful beforehand of iconic landmarks and usage them to animate tourists to travel successful their footsteps. 

Canmore, Kananaskis hoping to attract overseas visitors

Tourism Canmore Kananaskis aims to usage the acme to amended the area's "brand recognition" astir the world. 

"We are moving precise hard to pull much planetary visitors, particularly from the United States, the U.K., Germany and France," said CEO Rachel Ludwig.

"We cognize that they are staying longer and spending much money. Having that quality sum astir the area, hopefully, we'll get that further boost for years to come."

Hotels successful Canmore and Kananaskis were connected mean 74 per cent afloat successful 2024 — up 11 per cent from 2019 levels — according to Tourism Canmore Kananaskis' 2025 concern plan.

But with caller accommodation options expected to unfastened successful the coming years, Ludwig said the portion volition person the abstraction to invited much visitors. 

"There's a batch of short-term abrogation inventory that volition travel online successful the adjacent fewer years. So we're decidedly acceptable to grow," she said.