Alberta tourism continuing to grow after strongest pandemic rebound in Canada
The sector expects the U.S. market to grow even further, despite tariffs
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta's tourism sector has rebounded and grown more quickly than any other province in the country, and industry representatives see more room for growth, even as a trade war with its most popular international market heats up.
Recent years have seen the province's tourism sector grow, with Travel Alberta reporting visitor spending totalled $11.5 billion from January to September last year. That marked a 10 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, the most among all provinces.
The province says its on track to hit its $13.4-billion goal in visitor spending last year, with a larger vision in mind for the sector to reach $25 billion by 2035.
Tannis Gaffney, Travel Alberta's chief marketing officer, told CBC Radio's The Homestretch on Monday that more direct flights to Alberta have helped boost international tourism, and that the wealth of outdoor tourist destinations makes it an international draw. She pointed out Alberta boasts six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most of any province.
"We take it for granted, and it's just outside in our backyard that we have these amazing not only cultural gems, but really beautiful experiences that people put on their bucket list for years," Gaffney said.
Representatives of the province's tourism sector are meeting across the province this month, in a Tourism Town Hall series popping up in four locations from April 3 to April 15. On Monday, they sat down at the Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary to talk industry trends and growth opportunities.
Growth boosted by Indigenous experiences, direct flights
The growth in the province's tourist options has partly worked to keep travellers visiting for longer, Tourism Industry Association of Alberta CEO Darren Reeder says, rather than making it a quick stop en route to British Columbia.
"Traditionally what's happened is a lot of long-distance visitors come to Alberta, they spend a few days and then go to British Columbia. We want them to auger their entire vacation here in Alberta," Reeder said.
While Alberta's national parks and the Rocky Mountains have long been popular destinations, tourism officials point to newer developments they believe are driving growth like Nordic spas in Canmore and Kananaskis, or converted grain silos into accommodations on farms near Pincher Creek.
The industry has also responded positively to Alberta's recent All-Seasons Resorts Act. The bill created a new regulator for all-seasons resorts on public land, of which there are currently none, to boost tourism outside of summertime.
Officials also point to high demand for Indigenous offerings for tourists, that's growing across Canada, but particularly in Alberta.
Indigenous Tourism Alberta CEO Chelsea Quirk said one-in-three international visitors want these offerings, with higher demand among Canadian travellers — especially in younger generations. She said her organization looks to ensure the offerings for tourists are culturally appropriate and coming from Indigenous-led groups and entrepreneurs.
"When we got to people, it has to be what they want to be. We can help them fine tune those things and give them the programming they need to do it, but it has to come from the community," Quirk said.
U.S. travellers still a growing market
The country that Alberta sees the most international visitors from is the U.S., which Reeder said is a still steadily growing market, even amid a trade war between the two countries.
Reeder said he still expects the U.S. market to grow further for his industry.
"Americans have always travelled in the face of having a fairly strong presence, politically speaking, elsewhere in the world and that has not deterred them," Reeder said.
"I think from a Canadian tourism [perspective], from an Alberta tourism perspective, we're here to welcome them. We can transcend politics."
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With files from Colleen Underwood