What’s in Drumheller’s wallet? Travel Drumheller estimates 150 million dollars is left in the valley every year by tourists. It would like to see that number grow, with an eye to becoming as large a tourist destination as Banff.
    Travel Drumheller attended the Monday regular meeting of Drumheller Town Council November 17 to present information and ideas on growing tourism in the valley.
    Their proposal is to amend the Town’s business licence bylaw, which would allow local businesses to charge their guests/users a fee, either as a flat rate or a percentage, added on to the cost of the guest’s bill.
    That fee would be collected by the Town and distributed to Travel Drumheller to fund the organization and the destination marketing fund to attract more visitors to the valley.     
    "Tourism is a viable economic growth platform for this community,” said Travel Drumheller’s Dan Sullivan. He noted to Council that Banff started as a one-room shack by the railroad tracks, and was built up by people with vision.
    Travel Drumheller would like the user fee be mandatory so all businesses involved are on a level playing field. The proposal would see the fee first be collected by hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds in the first year, then possibly expand to other businesses. Increases projected by Travel Drumheller in 2020 over 2014 numbers would see 156,000 extra visitors to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, 50,800 additional room nights sold, and 5.69 million incremental room night revenue.
    In addition to the Town’s business bylaw changes,  work on the fee would involve the hiring of a third party agent that would be completely independent of both the Town and Travel Drumheller, and an agreement set between the Town and Travel Drumheller that Travel Drumheller is to be the Town’s agent in marketing. During the question and answer session, Council questioned whether a heritage/infrastructure fund would be a part of the marketing funds collected, and whether the fee collection would pose a financial hardship for businesses.         Curtis said people are in favour of money going to market Drumheller and improved tourist infrastructure, and believes costs will be passed on from businesses to the end user.
    The business licence fee discussion will be returning to Council in the near future. If Council passes the fee proposal, Curtis said the bylaw amendment could be effective January 1, 2015.
    The Town estimates almost 30 per cent of employment in Drumheller directly or indirectly comes from Tourism.

    A familiar candidate has stepped forward in a bid to become the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding, and he brings with him extensive political experience.
    The Mail broke the story that Drumheller resident Ed Mah is seeking the nomination to be the PC candidate for the riding. The Mail also learned that former Drumheller–Stettler MLA Jack Hayden wants back into the political scene.
    While no date has been set for nominations, the Drumheller-Stettler PC Association held a meeting in Hanna on November 1 and selected a new interim executive. Oyen’s Doug Jones is now president, replacing Mah.
    Following the meeting The Mail caught up with Hayden,  who he said he was interested.
    “I do intend to run for the nomination,” said Hayden. “My heart has been in public service for a number of years, and I think we really need to pay more attention to our area. There is so much that needs to be done.”
    He said he has been in a different situation since the last election. Today he is a consultant and is often performing  similar work that he was doing as an elected official, but in other ridings.
    “I need to do it, attempt the nomination process to see if I can win that, and then I think all of the work I have done with these different communities throughout the years would hopefully be helpful in winning the seat back because it is important to be at the table. If you are not on the table you are on the menu,” he said.
    He says it is important for rural constituencies to have a member of the governing party as its representative.
    “We have a situation where you need someone representing your area that can be convincing and work with the communities,” he said.
    While many in other communities are dealing with capacity issues, in schools and other institutions, often the case in rural areas is the opposite problem.
    The one exception is with seniors housing.  He says the average age of Albertans keeps climbing and people are living longer thanks to medical advances, and he recognizes that often seniors are entering the system later with more health issues, especially dementia. Drumheller is feeling the crunch.
    “It is tough to come up with the dollars, but we have to do it because in a constituency like ours we do have a high average age. The average age of farmers in the province is 57, and I think probably higher in our area,” he said.
      During the last election, Hayden was defeated by current WildRose MLA Richard Strankman, and one message that rang with voters appeared to be Hayden's lack of time spent in the constituency.
    “It was probably true to a degree because if you are in cabinet, you are six to seven days a week busy, so I would try to attend up to six events in the constituency on weekends, but is quite a challenge to do it,” he said. “But the flip side is that if you are fortunate enough to sit in cabinet, you are around the table with the decision makers … which helps you get your message across concerning the needs of your area.”
     He also acknowledges that one issue that hurt the party at the last election was property rights.
    “I am pleased to see the Premier has made that Bill One, to reassure citizens,” he said.  
    He says he can feel the tide turning.
    “There is a momentum, and that is why we are going to have a nomination race,” he said. “Probably six months or a year ago, I would have likely not been challenged for the nomination, but there is a real feel of change and it is very positive.”