{"id":413348,"date":"2026-01-16T15:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413348\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:05:32","slug":"sale-of-jasper-skytram-raises-concerns-about-lack-of-competition-in-alberta-mountain-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413348\/","title":{"rendered":"Sale of Jasper SkyTram raises concerns about lack of competition in Alberta mountain parks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Canadian competition watchdog is calling for more to be done to avoid a monopoly among businesses providing paid experiences in Alberta\u2019s mountain parks after a U.S.-based company bought the Jasper SkyTram.<\/p>\n

Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality announced Jan. 2, 2025<\/a>, that it had completed the $23.7-million acquisition of the tram at Whistlers Mountain. It had previously been owned by the same company that runs the Marmot Basin ski resort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Competition Bureau launched an investigation in late 2024 after private business operators raised concerns about the acquisition by the company, then known as Viad Corp. In April, the bureau determined there were no issues warranting further steps.<\/p>\n

Keldon Bester, the executive director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, said Pursuit\u2019s ownership of private attractions in national parks raises concerns about a lack of competition in the Rocky Mountain region. It released a report in December<\/a> asking the federal government to reverse the company\u2019s previous acquisitions to \u201cbreak Pursuit\u2019s monopoly grip on Banff and Jasper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCanadians are familiar in a number of contexts what happens \u2014 whether as consumers, workers or entrepreneurs \u2014 when we have limited options, when we depend on a single supplier,\u201d said Bester.<\/p>\n

Pursuit operates hotels, attractions, restaurants and lodges around the world. <\/p>\n

In the Banff, Jasper and Waterton Lakes national parks, it owns 11 hotels and operates numerous private attractions including the Banff Gondola, the Columbia Icefield Adventure and cruises on Maligne and Minnewanka lakes.<\/p>\n

Stuart Back, chief operating officer of Pursuit’s Banff Jasper Collection, said the company plays an active role in the communities it works in and has strong relationships with local businesses.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, the company has created 1,200 jobs in Alberta, reinvested its Canadian profits into local operations and raised $3 million for Jasper wildfire relief, the company said in a statement to CBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re invested for the long term as we are, then these things are just fundamentally what you do,\u201d said Back in an interview with CBC.<\/p>\n

Bester said Pursuit\u2019s attractions can improve the experience for people with accessibility needs who are unable to participate in free activities at a park \u2014 but it comes at a higher cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you combine that with how Pursuit talks about its own business \u2014 high barriers to entry, pricing power \u2014 that\u2019s when folks like us tend to get interested,\u201d said Bester.<\/p>\n

Though the bureau found no competition-related concerns in its review, Bester said consumers should be concerned, noting that monopolies can breed higher costs for consumers despite lower quality and innovation.<\/p>\n

Bester also called on Parks Canada to better promote competition whenever private operators work in the parks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve learned over the past decades is that just because the Competition Bureau doesn’t intervene in something, doesn’t mean there isn\u2019t cause for concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Competition concerns addressed by company:<\/p>\n

Radio Active8:21Tourism operator talks about company’s role in Alberta’s mountain parks<\/p>\n

The Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project penned a letter recently, highlighting concerns with an American company called Pursuit owning several paid attractions and hotels in the Rockies. Stuart Back is the chief operating officer of Pursuit’s Banff Jasper Collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-413348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}