Reasons we love Alberta’s new long-term tourism strategy

Last week, the Government of Alberta announced a new long-term tourism strategy. This strategy will drive alignment across the sector and provide a road map to unlocking the full economic, social and cultural potential of our visitor economy.  

There is a lot to love about this strategy, from an ambitious new goal, to the extensive engagement that informed the approach, to the five key pillars that will guide us moving forward. Keep reading to learn five key things we love about this strategy.

An ambitious new target

The long-term tourism strategy outlines a plan to grow tourism revenues in the province to $25 billion by 2035. This ambitious new target is greater than previous commitments to grow tourism revenues in the province to $20 billion by 2030 and demonstrates Alberta’s commitment to tourism as a key driver of Alberta’s economy.

This new goal takes into account Alberta’s faster-than-expected recovery to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, which helped us achieve the goals of our Bootstrap Plan nearly two years ahead of schedule.

Tourism is Alberta’s #1 service export and plays a key role in our growing economy. More than doubling the size of tourism industry will establish tourism as an essential part of Alberta’s economic development agenda. 

Extensive engagement

Over the past four years, the Government of Alberta and Travel Alberta engaged with communities and businesses across Alberta to understand the needs of the industry.

Feedback centered on five categories: building new and enhanced products, improving access, competitive marketing, creating a supportive operating environment, and investing in Indigenous Tourism.

The priorities outlined in the long-term tourism strategy align well with Travel Alberta’s Bootstrap Plan and provide a north star to guide our work as we move forward.

Five key pillars

Based on feedback and engagement from the tourism industry, this strategy outlines five key pillars that will guide the future of our sector:

• Leadership and Alignment - Drive growth of the visitor economy through coordinated government action and an industry-leading, commercially focused Travel Alberta.
• Competitive Product - Drive increased private capital for world-class, year-round nature-based tourism experiences, creating sustainable economic opportunities and increasing tourism revenues across the province.
• People and Careers - Develop and implement policies that address short- and long-term labour challenges for employers, enabling communities to retain and attract residents.
• Expansion of Access - Ensure visitors have safe, affordable and convenient access to and throughout Alberta, in all seasons.
• Indigenous Tourism - Support Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs to deliver authentic experiences and share stories of their lands, cultures and peoples.

A focus on Indigenous tourism

The inclusion of Indigenous tourism as a pillar in this strategy signifies Alberta’s commitment to supporting and partnering with Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous tourism is a tool for economic reconciliation and provides a platform for Indigenous communities to share their cultures with the world. And the Indigenous tourism industry is booming – one in three international travellers are looking for authentic Indigenous tourism experiences.

In alignment with this strategy, we are excited to continue our work with Indigenous Tourism Alberta, investing in Indigenous tourism operators across the province.

Driving industry alignment

Travel Alberta is well-positioned to bring together various groups to support destination development across the province. This includes convening public and private investment to support signature developments and all-season resorts that inspire year-round, overnight visitation from domestic and international travellers.

Through our continued investments across marketing, access and place, investment in and partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations, and an increased focus on economic development, Travel Alberta is well positioned to drive tourism growth across the province.

Click here to read the tourism strategy on the Government of Alberta's website.