Travel Alberta Mandate
Travel Alberta is mandated to:
- market the tourism assets, attractions and opportunities present in Alberta in domestic, national, and international markets;
- promote the development and growth of the tourism industry in Alberta to increase revenue and employment in, and the economic benefits generated by, the industry,
- promote Alberta as a destination for tourists and other visitors;
- assist Alberta communities and tourism industry operators to develop and market their products;
- provide visitor services; and
- exercise or perform any other powers, duties and functions authorized under subsection (8).
Commitee Purpose
Travel Alberta’s Advisory Committees provide input to Travel Alberta’s CEO and leadership team in support of the organization’s mandate and business plan objectives. The Committees’ role is advisory and final direction on strategy and budget allocation will be at the discretion of Travel Alberta.
There are two Advisory Committees, with the following purviews:
Marketing and Insights
- Offer feedback on Travel Alberta’s proposed priorities and activities as they relate to marketing and insights.
- Identify insights or market intelligence gaps that explore innovative solutions to issues that may prevent Alberta from achieving its tourism goals.
- Gather industry input from across the province and represent industry's perspective on key issues in information collection and insights generation and communication.
- Share ideas on how to address business needs through regional, national, and international marketing.
- Align travel trade strategies across the province with marketing and trade programs for domestic and international markets.
- Provide advice on measuring and tracking the specific contributions that regions and destinations make to the growth of the overall provincial economy.
Access and Product Development
- Offer feedback on Travel Alberta’s proposed priorities and activities as they relate to product development and access.
- Represent industry's perspective on key access and product development issues and opportunities.
- Identify investment or resource gaps that exist for tourism businesses to further develop new products.
- Discuss potential expanded and/or enhanced transportation routes throughout the province, to allow for increased safety and access to rural and remote areas.
- Provide input on air routes and capacity needs to ensure continued access to Alberta’s destinations.
- Advise on visitor experience management and information technology infrastructure, including cell service and Wi-Fi, as well as internet access.
Roles and Responsibilites
The Committees will:
- Provide advice, intelligence, and insights to Travel Alberta management in accordance with the committee purpose.
- Support Travel Alberta in its efforts to develop and promote authentic experiences to the world.
- Provide a link to stakeholders and provide an industry voice related to tourism issues and opportunities with regional and provincial perspectives.
- Act as a sounding board in the development of strategies and programs to support Alberta’s visitor economy and the businesses and communities that are essential to its success.
- Act as ambassadors and a positive force in fostering industry understanding of Travel Alberta’s objectives, priorities and activities and assist in involving more stakeholders and securing increased support for Travel Alberta, the Alberta brand, and initiatives.
- Ensure alignment of Travel Alberta’s work with Indigenous communities with Indigenous Tourism Alberta and the Indigenous Tourism Industry of Canada.
- Ensure sustainable and responsible tourism growth strategies are implemented or considered.
Each of the Committees will be supported by a member of Travel Alberta’s leadership team.
Selection Process
Candidates for the Committees are selected based on their sector representation, knowledge, and experience in Alberta’s tourism industry. Geographic location and member diversity will be considered in in the selection process.
The Committees will each be composed of up to 10 members.
Committee membership is determined by an application and selection process facilitated by Travel Alberta management and led by the CEO. Appointment to the committee is done on an individual, not corporate basis. Membership is non-transferable.
Committee members will incur all expenses, including travel, related to committee meetings.
Member Profile
We are looking for individuals who:
- Own or lead a tourism-based business that provides experiences for regional, national, and international travellers. Businesses must have direct revenue generation capacity.
- Have experience in and knowledge of the visitor economy on international, national, and provincial scales.
- Understands the sectors and opportunities in the region from which they are chosen and have direct experience in one or more of the elements of the Committee to which they belong.
- Desires to contribute to Travel Alberta’s objectives in a meaningful way, including prioritizing time for Committee meetings and review of materials.
- Will participate on a volunteer basis, responsible for costs associated with participation.
- Can attend two annual meetings and dedicate an estimated 5 hours per month to committee business.
Term of Committee Membership
Members will be appointed for either a two or three-year term, at Travel Alberta’s sole discretion. Terms will be staggered to ensure a smooth annual turnover of Committee members with no term to exceed five years.
No substitution of members will be allowed and Committee members who do not attend two consecutive meetings may be requested to resign.
In exceptional circumstances, the Chair of a Committee, on the advice of the organization that nominated the member, may grant extended leave to a member who will miss two or more consecutive meetings for reasons beyond the member’s control.
If the Travel Alberta CEO exercises the option of appointing additional members (over the 10 specified) to the Committee, they can appoint the member to a two-, or three-year term. The term of these appointees may be renewed up to a maximum of five years served on the Committee.
Committee Operations
Travel Alberta will provide administrative and secretariat support to the Committees. Each Committee will select a Chair and Vice Chair from its members, during the first Committee meeting.
Committee Chair Responsibilities
The Committee Chair will have a leadership role in providing effective governance and administration of the committee and is responsible for guiding the meeting in accordance with the agenda and coordinating decision and action items that arise.
Meeting Schedule
The Committees will meet twice yearly, in spring and fall, on dates and locations determined by the Committee and CEO, regarding Travel Alberta’s annual strategic planning schedule. All Committees will meet on the same date and at the same location with an all-Committee plenary session prior to the start, led by Travel Alberta’s CEO.
Advice
The Committees are advisory committees, and therefore not responsible for making official recommendations to Travel Alberta on budget allocation or strategic priorities. However, Committee suggestions shall be captured and relayed to Travel Alberta leadership.
Communications
The Committee Chair will coordinate communication between Travel Alberta, the Committee and tourism stakeholders in Alberta and support Committee members in their role as ambassadors for Alberta’s tourism industry.