Idaho Falls prepares for increase in tourists as borders prepare to reopen

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce is preparing for an increase in tourists, as the US prepares to reopen borders in November, after being closed for almost two years.

Chamber CEO Chip Schwarze said as of 2018, more than half a million Canadians pass through eastern Idaho every year. While most of them will drive right through on their way to places like Las Vegas or Arizona, about one percent will stop in Idaho Falls.

"If we capture one percent of that market, one percent of 500,000 people, if they stop and spend one night in our hotels in town, that's close to $700,000," Schwarze said. "And then you throw in breakfast and dinner and some shopping wherever they're out here in town. That's a million dollars every spring and every fall directly pumping into our economy through our hotels and our restaurants. So it's a big deal. And that's just one percent of them who do it."

The White House hasn't announced an exact date the borders will reopen, saying it will happen in November, but Schwarze says it comes at a good time.

"I know the business community and our restaurants are excited about it because they know that, you know, typically mid-October through Thanksgiving and then shortly, right after Thanksgiving is when a lot of those snowbirds head south," Schwarze said. "And so we see an increase in our restaurants, and our hotel traffic during those months."

The White House has also said they will reopen the borders for air travel in "early November."

And with the Idaho Falls Airport now offering more locations, that could mean an additional increase in tourists.

Schwarze says they are planning on an increase.

"We're actually doing everything we can to make sure that sudden increase of tourists happens," Schwarze said. "We manage a grant from the Idaho Department of Commerce to their tourism department where we market Idaho Falls as a destination. We have started marketing our winter destinations for snowmobiling and skiing with Kelly Canyon, opening up their triple lift this year, we think that's going to help us bring more skiers to our town. And more weekend vacationers. We're still the gateway to Island Park and Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, which are good destinations in the winter."

And Schwarze says it will only get busier.

"We're excited because at the end of next year, we'll see the Mountain America Center opening up in October, which will bring concerts, it'll bring hockey, it'll bring a lot of things," Schwarze said. "So tourism in Idaho Falls will continue to be a big thing. Tourism is the third-largest piece of the economy of the entire state of Idaho. And our region, region six of Idaho tourism is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state right now."