Calgary motorcycle show almost 'recession-proof', says high-end retailer

A high-end motorcycle company spokesperson says a huge exhibition in Calgary shows that not all industries are negatively impacted by the loss of thousands of oil and gas jobs in Alberta.

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The Motorcycle Show welcomed about 25,000 visitors to its exhibition at the BMO Centre since it opened Friday.

"Motorcycle people are very passionate about motorcycles," said Norm Wells of BMW Canada.

"Regardless of what is happening in the economic world around us, this is still a getaway, a mental getaway for people."

He says the lack of some high-paying jobs in the oil and sector is mitigated by the general support of the motorcycling community.

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"The recession, although it will have an effect on other areas of their lives, I don't think motorcycling will be that affected by it," Wells said.

"We might get a small hit because the oil patch people are not as many as they were, and those are the guys who always had a lot of cash in their pockets, so we might lose a little bit there but the general motorcycling community I think will still be strong."