A great divide has opened in Alberta's tourism industry, as resorts in the Rockies report a near record flood of visitors this summer while across much of the province, a sustained crash in oil prices means up to two-thirds of hotel rooms are empty on any given night.

A glut of new hotels opening in Calgary and Edmonton is one of the lingering signs of how quickly the province's economic fortunes have turned. Fast-growing Alberta was once the hotbed of Canada's hospitality industry, with work crews filling hotel rooms across the oil patch and corporate accounts pushing up prices. While rooms in Banff and Jasper still command a premium, the province is in its second year of recession and the tourism industry is in crisis.

The parking lot in front of the Best Western in Leduc was once full of vehicles from the oil and gas sector as everyone from drilling crews to corporate travellers stayed there. Most of that traffic has now evaporated and yet three new hotels are slated to open soon in the city near Edmonton's international airport.

Story continues below advertisement

"It's been the most difficult 12 months of my career," said Perry Batke, the Best Western's manager and a 30-year veteran of the tourism industry. "This isn't just a downturn – it's a crisis. People and operations are in turmoil. Our major economic driver has dried up."

Outside the mountains and Alberta's four largest cities, the nightly occupancy rate at the end of June was 38.6 per cent – about half the minimum level considered healthy by the industry. In June of 2014, months before oil prices fell off a cliff, the occupancy rate was 65.1 per cent.

Across central Alberta in small hamlets without a stoplight, hotel towers hastily erected to house a crush of oil workers now stand largely empty as energy projects in the oil patch have been cancelled. Hours have been slashed for service staff and a hotel in Fort McMurray is now slated for demolition because of the rapid fall in demand.

Before Alberta's current economic woes, Calgary had the most expensive hotel rooms in Canada. From $210 for a downtown hotel room in 2014, the average overnight rate across Calgary is now down to $145, lower than prices in Montreal and Toronto.

One of the hotel industry's favourite metrics is called revenue per available room, which combines the occupancy rate with the rate paid for rooms. At the end of June, it was down 20.8 per cent over the previous year. The province's average revenue per available room at the end of June was only $67.38; a year earlier it was more than $85.

"This is by far the worst I've seen. Nothing compares to this," said Dave Kaiser, the president of the Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association. He says the industry now has two speeds, the fast-moving Rockies and slow-moving in the rest of Alberta.

Making matters worse, Edmonton and Calgary are still adding hotel rooms faster than other Canadian cities. Between 2015 and 2017, Calgary will add an additional 2,100 hotel rooms, increasing the city's available rooms by 16 per cent. Once demand stabilizes, it'll take years to absorb the new beds, warned Mr. Kaiser.

Story continues below advertisement

"What's so difficult is that we're having a hard time seeing any daylight at the end of this," he added.

As rates have tumbled, some hotels have begun to offer once-pricey comforts to guests for cheap. During any weekend in July, a chic four-star hotel in downtown Calgary offered a room with a chilled bottle of champagne and valet parking for half the price of a threadbare motel room near the entrance to Banff National Park.

The Rocky Mountain national parks and the resort towns of Banff and Jasper are the only bright spot in Alberta's otherwise ailing industry. Locals in Banff say a number of factors have come together to create the growing crowds snapping up small bottles of maple syrup on Banff Avenue – everything from American morning television programs gushing about the mountain town to the threat of terrorism in Europe.

A sagging Canadian dollar has also helped push more Americans north for vacation. U.S. travel to Alberta by car was up 11.1 per cent in May, according to federal data – travel from other countries was down 2 per cent. At the same time, there are more Wild Rose Country licence plates crowding Banff as Alberta's deep recession has led many locals to curtail vacation plans and stick close to home to unwind.

"This year in Banff has been an incredible success story during a time with many hardships facing Alberta," said Chris Barr, the manager of the Banff Aspen Lodge.

With 3.8 million visitors expected in Banff park this year, more than 5 million could visit in 2017 as park fees are waived as part of Canada's 150th-anniversary celebrations. Mr. Barr's biggest problem has been finding enough service staff, an issue made worse by the province's rapidly increasing minimum wage.

Story continues below advertisement

Hotel revenues have increased by 13.5 per cent this year in the Rockies and are now nearly double the rates found elsewhere in the province. Mr. Kaiser says he was recently told by hotel operators at a gathering in Banff that June was their best month ever.

One of the reasons for full mountain resorts are the strict limits on development in Banff and Jasper. While some hotels have squeezed in extra rooms and found ways to add space, any large-scale new construction is challenging within the national parks.

As an alternative, many stay in small bed and breakfasts. April Wood has been operating At Wits End, a small two-room bed and breakfast, for the past five years. She's been a Banff resident for the past 30 years.

"We've been turning away a lot more inquiries this year because we're already full. The town is at maximum capacity. There are more people than I've ever seen before," she said.