Rural Development & Promotion Fund

Destination Promotion

• Development of advertising creative and associated agency fees.
• Fees to buy radio/tv/print/digital advertising that presents a unified tourism message as part of a marketing campaign.
• Social strategy and implementation (including costs related to contracted community management).
• Public relations and associated agency fees associated with a related marketing campaign.
• Content development including photography, video, and written content (shot list must be included with the application). Travel Alberta’s Content Studio may review and determine the scope of the project and may get involved to generate optimal results and cost savings.

Destination Development

• Destination planning and research aimed at growing the visitor economy.
• Workforce development including educational seminars and building destination capacity.
• Destination programming that is available to visitors on a regular, scheduled basis (daily, weekly, monthly) and is designed for long-term sustainability.
• Attraction and securing of business and sporting events.

• Research/consulting studies to develop a business or sport event attraction strategy for a community/region.
• Salaries, wages, or management fees (besides those related to content development and advertising).
• GST/HST.
• Website development (unless related to an integrated marketing campaign that includes a supporting media plan to drive visitors to the website).
• Swag, giveaways, and prizes.

Note:

• Travel Alberta will not invest in destination development/promotion efforts led by a community that duplicate the efforts of an existing destination organization.
• Travel Alberta has the right to determine what expenses are deemed eligible and ineligible, even if they are not listed here.

Expenses must be incurred between the dates agreed upon by Travel Alberta. Expenses will need to be invoiced by a qualified third party and documented in the financial reconciliation.

• Number of businesses supported because of the development/promotional initiative.
• Successful delivery of proposed activity or project.
• Outcome measures which may include incremental visitation, visitor spend, etc.

• Application period: Applications open in Fall 2025, and close in late Fall 2025. Late submissions will not be considered.
• How to apply: When intake is open, the application link will be available on our website under Rural Development & Promotion Fund. When you click on the application link, you will be redirected to our Grant Management Tool (GMT) to log in and complete the application.
• Complete your application: Fill out the application form completely. Remember, you can save your progress if you need more time or extra information before submitting. Each organization can submit only one application per funding year.
• Travel Alberta’s authority: We have the final say in managing funding requests. Due to the highly competitive nature of the investment program, we may have to say no to some projects even if they meet certain criteria.
• Funding approval process and timing: The investment decisions for the 2026/2027 intake period will be made in early 2026. If Travel Alberta approves your funding request, you will be sent a Travel Alberta funding agreement in Spring 2026.
• Receiving the funds: Once everything has been finalized and the agreement has been executed by both parties, the funding will be deposited directly in your bank account through an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).