With so many uncertainties surrounding the global pandemic, there were many question marks leading into what would typically be a busy season for tourism in Cochrane.

The narrow window of summer leisure is one that usually brings a wide range of visitors  to our area and helps to drive our local economy.

Jo-Anne Oucharek with the Cochrane Tourism Association says that while the tourism industry has certainly been the hardest hit; Cochrane tourism is alive and doing "okay" thanks to local support.

Oucharek says that with many Albertans taking the opportunity to staycation and explore our own backyards more than ever this year, the summer months proved to draw visitors from all corners of the province.

"Most of it has been coming from local and hyper-local. We've been tracking some things with the Visitor Centre and so we do have people travelling locally from across Alberta - so from Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Medicine Hat," she says. "The majority really are people playing in their backyard and we are seeing that traffic for sure."

In early June Federal Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly announced that $30 million dollars which was originally slated to attract foreign visitors would instead be used to boost a nationwide campaign for Canadians to vacation closer to home.

Oucharek says that Cochrane Tourism was hoping to see some of that funding to help highlight our area and draw in visitors but the federal funding was slated elsewhere.

She says "Unfortunately that funding went to the big nine tourism associations. So places like Tourism Calgary, Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Grand Prairie, Medicine Hat and the small tourism organizations like Cochrane Tourism did not benefit from any of that funding."

Despite not receiving federal assistance, Cochrane Tourism was able to receive some grant funding from The Alberta Economic Development Trade and Tourism division along with Travel Alberta.

Oucharek says that they partnered up with the Town of Cochrane and the chamber of commerce, and they took the opportunity to promote the local business community through several initiatives.

COVID-19 certainly made it difficult for the tourism industry to thrive this summer, but Oucharek says that in tracking their website as well as social media platforms there has actually been a 250 per cent increase in traffic.

She says that an increase in online traffic means that people  are looking for things to do in the Cochrane area and that Cochrane's business community recognizes the large role that Cochranites have played in shopping locally and helping to boost the local economy.

"The business community, I mean restaurants, golfing all of that, has been so thankful that the locals are shopping local," she says. "It's great that our community has really supported the local business community here because without that we wouldn't have all these really unique places; they wouldn't be here. So, Cochrane has really stepped up like as usual."

Oucharek says that despite having so many local events cancelled this year like the Rodeo that draw in thousands, organizations have made adaptations to allow for a community presence on a much smaller scale that is COVID-19 compliant.

She says that she expects that these events along with local tourism will be even bigger and better in 2021.