Photo by Curtis Galbraith

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Tourism

Alberta tourism funding showing strong early results

Sep 27, 2022 | 2:41 PM

With September 27 being World Tourism Day, officials with Travel Alberta say the organization is investing to expand the breadth of available tourism offerings across the province—with promising results.

According to funding recipients, 15 tourism businesses are said to have seen a total of $1,218,611 in direct revenue growth since receiving product development investment in 2021. While broader data collection is still underway, say officials, these strong early results are said to show that Alberta’s tourism industry is on track with 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels.

Other results include:

• 99 construction jobs created across 20 projects
• 119 new long-term positions across 23 businesses
• 2,043 additional overnight stays across 8 accommodation businesses

“We know the importance of our visitor economy for Alberta’s overall economic growth,” says Martin Long, Parliamentary Secretary of Small Business and Tourism. “I am always amazed at the ingenuity and optimism of tourism-related businesses. It is encouraging to see our tourism industry rebounding from the past number of years and I look forward to their rapid growth as we evolve and strengthen our visitor economy.”

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David Goldstein, CEO of Travel Alberta, says, “These results instill optimism for the future of our industry. Enhancing and developing visitor experiences, in all corners of the province, bolsters Alberta’s competitive advantage as we continue growing our visitor economy.”

The Tourism Investment Program is Travel Alberta’s commitment to invest $15 million annually over three years (2021-2023) to support businesses and communities in all regions of the province. This includes a $3.25 million commitment over three years to support Indigenous Tourism Alberta.

Last year, Travel Alberta is said to have invested in 249 tourism projects across all programs.

“The funding from Travel Alberta has made, and will continue to make, an immense impact on my business’ bottom-line revenue, quality of offering and ability to expand to other parts of Alberta,” says Jenna Walsh, Travel Purposefully Inc., Bragg Creek.

“This funding has helped us add more staff, create a more stable and consistent revenue stream and extend our operating season. It is one of the most successful undertakings in our company’s history and has had immediate results,” adds Gordon Stermann, White Mountain Adventures, Banff.

“We are very happy to report a total of 2,600 visitors to our new boutique location since opening in May. Many people inform us that they are coming for the experience and the knowledge transfer we offer. This investment resulted in the creation of a full-time chef position, as well as a delivery driver & a part time customer service representative, with more positions being added soon,” exclaims Patrick Dupuis, Old School Cheesery, Vermillion.

Travel Alberta says it is exploring additional ways to grow Alberta’s tourism industry outside the tourism investment program. The organization is building a series of regional development plans, driven by community and resident engagement, to identify product development opportunities with the greatest potential for long-term economic growth.