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International tourists are flocking to Alberta with visitor spending exceeding that registered pre-pandemic in the first three-quarters of 2023, according to the provincial government.
In a new release Monday, the province cited $2.53 billion in international visitor spending in the first nine months of last year. That compares to $2.28 billion for all of 2019.
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Tourism Minister Joseph Schow said those visitors tend to contribute more to the province’s economy by staying longer and spending more.
“The demand to visit our province has never been higher,” he said.
“Increased visitor spending bolsters activity at local businesses and creates jobs not just in Edmonton and Calgary but across Alberta.”
Schow said he pitches international visitors to come to Alberta by focusing on the Rocky Mountains and places like Jasper and Lake Louise, as well as other parts of the province including Drumheller, Pincher Creek, Kananaskis as well as cities including Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat.
He pointed to increased air access as also being behind the bump in foreign visitors including growth from Asia, specifically Japan.
“We have direct flights into Alberta, which is essential, I think, to bring back the high-value traveller that we were lacking,” he said.
Schow is also the minister of sport and said Alberta hosting international events including the world junior hockey championships, Canada-U.S. women’s hockey, the Calgary Stampede, and other competitions helps build the province’s brand abroad.
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“All of these events draw international travellers,” Schow said. “They bring fans, different coaches, their family. They eat in restaurants and they have a great time. And the best part is, they want to come back.”
Apart from international visitors, Schow said the province has seen an increase in ‘staycations’ from other Canadians as well as Albertans themselves, a trend he said he first noticed during the pandemic.
“When we came out of the pandemic and (saw) that our visitor spending was up, the majority of it was Albertans visiting the rest of the province.
The government has a stated goal of growing the province’s total visitor economy to $25 billion in yearly visitor expenditures by 2035.
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