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Alberta’s tourism industry is facing an economic dichotomy, as chockablock resorts in the Rockies report one of their best years while hotels in other parts of the province struggle to simply remain open.

In 2015-16, the provincial tourism levy brought in $10.7 million less than in 2014-15 it was $91.5 million and the average occupancy rate of hotels dropped close to 10 per cent. The tourism levy is a four-per-cent charge on hotel rooms. The money goes into the general revenue fund.

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Even the average room rate decreased, as hotels in smaller cities and rural areas competed in what Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association president Dave Kaiser called a “race to the bottom,” dropping their room prices one after another hoping to fill those empty rooms.

“These are very, very difficult times. I haven’t seen numbers this dismal for maybe twentysomething years,” Kaiser said.

Empty hotel rooms can in large part be attributed to the drop in natural resource prices — less gas exploration in rural areas, no oil crews resting their heads, and fewer business and oil company travellers in the major centres.