(ID 63651912 © Brandon Smith | Dreamstime.com)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

a record-breaking year

Alberta tourism bounced back in a big way in 2023, gov’t reveals

Sep 25, 2024 | 5:11 PM

The Government of Alberta says the numbers are in, and 2023 was a bounceback, record-breaking year for tourism.

In 2023, according to Statistics Canada, visitors spent $12.7 billion in Alberta, surpassing the previous record $10.7 billion spent in 2022.

International visitors alone injected $2.9 billion into the provincial economy, which is better than pre-pandemic levels, and is an increase from the previous high of $2.3 billion.

“This past February, Alberta’s government launched a long-term tourism strategy, setting the bold and ambitious goal of growing Alberta’s visitor economy from $10 billion in annual visitor expenditure to $25 billion annually by 2035,” says Joseph Schow, Minister of Tourism and Sport, speaking to rdnewsNOW on the phone from New York where he’s been meeting with industry stakeholders.

“The strength of Alberta’s tourism industry—as demonstrated by our record-breaking year—show that the strategy is working. We are well on our way to reaching our goal.”

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Schow admits, however, that managing the tourism sector is not without its challenges, but he is confident that Alberta is up for the task.

Things are going well, he believes, but what are the next steps?

A large piece of the puzzle is air access.

“We don’t share a border with a major US city like Ontario and B.C. do, so what comes in is predominantly international air traffic from the U.S., Europe and Asia. There are barriers there, so airlines are [discussing] expanding routes based on demand, and we’re advertising in international markets,” he explains.

The Alberta Badlands, near Drumheller. (ID 33794603 © Eudaemon | Dreamstime.com)

“The other thing is product development, so making sure that we’re developing enough product; then as we see more travelers come to Alberta, they’ll have things to do.”

Schow says national parks, for example, are very busy, and the goal is for people to have great experiences there — without too much congestion, he adds.

The ministry provided rdnewsNOW with a regional breakdown of visitor spending in 2023, noting the numbers indicate each region plays a pivotal role:

· Calgary and area: $4.1B

· Edmonton and area: $2.8B

· Canadian Rockies: $2.4B

· The rest of Alberta: $3.4B

Projects Travel Alberta has supported in recent years include:

Central Alberta

Running Reins Ranch (Red Deer County) – cabins and saunas

Canyon Ski Resort Mountain Coaster (Red Deer)

Yamnuska Wolf Dog Sanctuary (Cochrane) – interactive visitor experience

Southern Alberta

Canadian Badlands Amphitheatre (Drumheller)

Charmed Resorts (Blairmore)

Dark Skies Guide (Waterton) – guided snowshoe experience

Northern Alberta

Beyond Adventures (Fort McMurray) – guided hikes and river tours, including Dark Skies Tour

The Woods Experience (Wildwood) – authentic trapline experience

Latitude 55 Distillery (Grande Prairie) – craft your own gin

Central Rockies

Bow Valley Stand Up Paddle Boarding and Surf (Kananaskis) – river surfing

SkyRidge Glamping (Kananaskis) – year round

Canadian Rivers Wild Inc. (Canmore and Kananaskis) – guided snowshoeing, ice walks and hiking

Calgary

Alberta Boot Company

Telus Spark Science Centre

Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo

Edmonton and Area

Fort Edmonton Park

La Cité francophone – guided tour of Edmonton from francophone perspective

Métis Crossing

Schow shared that he is bringing back some exciting event-related prospects from New York, but can’t yet divulge all the details — only noting that he’s had talks with some “very major” sports organizations.

He says too that regional tourism organizations such as Tourism Red Deer play an important role, as do everyday Albertans.

“Based on my own observations, some jurisdictions embrace being tourism destinations while some don’t know they’re a tourism destination. Alberta is partly in the second category,” he admits.

“For so long, we’ve been seen as an economic driver in the energy sector and we’ll be that forever, but Alberta has such an incredible story to tell, and [must] understand that tourism is a big part of our future in economic development.

“We really want Albertans to help sell it to themselves, to their neighbours and to their friends and family who come from out of province.”

Last, year, provincial entity Travel Alberta secured more than 300,000 direct airline seats to Alberta from international and transborder target markets, yielding nearly $11 in visitor spending for every dollar invested.

The Alberta government also notes international expenditures in Alberta grew by 91 per cent year-over-year — faster than in other major provinces such as British Columbia (81 per cent), Ontario (77 per cent) and Quebec (63 per cent).

Alberta’s tourism strategy focuses on the five key pillars of leadership and alignment, competitive product, people and careers, expansion of access and Indigenous tourism.

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