On May 2, the Calgary Chamber hosted the Hon. Joseph Schow, Minister of Tourism and Sport, for a keynote and fireside chat focused on the Alberta governments ambitious goals for growth in the tourism and sport industries across the province.
The Minister began his remarks with positive news regarding the growth of Alberta’s tourism industry, sharing that the first three quarters of 2023 saw more visitor spending than all of 2019 combined. The Minister then discussed the province’s strategy to reach $25 billion in visitor spending by 2035, an increase of over $14 billion from 2022.
The keynote brought forward key themes of importance to the industry, including:
- Developing new and enhanced tourism products, such as year-round resorts and experiences.
- Expanding the labour market through education and talent attraction.
- Bolstering access to the province through improved infrastructure, including greater air and road access for Calgary to serve as a jumping off point for visitors
- Investing in Alberta’s brand as a top-tier tourism destination nationally and internationally.
- Growing Indigenous tourism, emphasizing the value tourism can hold for Indigenous entrepreneurs, businesses and communities.
The fireside chat with Calgary Chamber President & CEO, Deborah Yedlin, covered key investments and infrastructure development, talent attraction and labour shortages, housing supply in resort towns, and the positive outlook on the provinces recent rail announcements.
The discussion also touched on:
- Importance of inter-ministerial collaboration at the intersection of Arts, Culture and Tourism
- Supports needed for new and old sport infrastructure, such as the Olympic Oval and the proposed Foothills Multisport Fieldhouse
- Value of diverse forms of tourism, such as agritourism and Indigenous tourism
To close, the Minister, highlighted the success the tourism strategy is creating, stating that “the plan is working, people are coming back to Alberta in droves and the final 2023 numbers will blow 2022 out of the water.”
Thank you to our sponsors, including our Presenting sponsor, Tourism Calgary and our Thanking sponsor, Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, without whom this event would not have been possible.
