Tourism Jasper didn’t have to look far to appoint its new chief executive officer.
Tyler Riopel was already waiting in the wings as the agency’s director of destination development since August 2022.
After James Jackson’s recent departure, he knew that he really wanted to step up to the plate to bring his expertise and enthusiasm to the head role.
“Tourism Jasper has established itself as an industry leader, and I am honoured and excited to lead the next chapter of this great organization," he announced in a press release.
Riopel brings an extensive background of nearly two decades in tourism marketing to his new office. He has been on the frontline and has held leadership positions with industry appointments on different committees and advisory groups in Alberta and within the Edmonton region. Most of his career was as the director of marketing and communications with Northlands in Edmonton.
There, he worked with tourism partners on the local, provincial and national levels, including Travel Alberta and Tourism Jasper. He’s been in and around the Tourism Jasper family in one way shape or form for much longer than this last year and a half.
The Destination Development Portfolio was brand new when he moved to Jasper. The organization has always focused on demand generation, but this aspect is more related to the supply side of tourism.
“We've really been crafting that role as we've gone through understanding what it can be and shouldn't be,” Riopel said.
One of the major projects he worked on last year was the creation and establishment of the new and popular Visitor Experience Centre. It had a great opening summer in 2023, and he’s looking forward to opening the doors wide again for the public info hub located right next to the Old Fire Hall sometime in spring 2024.
He has also been busy preparing for the launch of the Destination Stewardship Plan, which he spent the last year refining it. With visitation levels nearing 2.5 million annually, tourism growth is on an upswing that puts the pandemic years in its dust. The plan is designed to provide a solid framework for growth over the next 10 years.
Riopel said that Tourism Jasper is a well-oiled machine that is totally on track to drive fast and far. A large part of that was how Jackson left operations in good working order.
“It's really nice to be able to step into a role that doesn't need to be fixed. There's a lot of great things that have been happening in Tourism Jasper,” he said, praising the rest of the exceptional team of leaders working behind the scenes in the office.
“I feel privileged to be able to work with them to continue to showcase Jasper as a world-class destination. The organization has a strong foundation and is on a really huge success trajectory. What we're looking to do is to continue that momentum, build off of the successes that are there and … make sure that that growth that's happening is responsible and doing the right things in our community so that we can maintain our sense of place and our sense of community which Jasper’s residents hold in such high regard.”
He added that family is very important to him. He, his wife and two children have felt fortunate to be welcomed with open arms by the community since they moved here.
“We knew that we wanted to find a community that would be embracing of our family and provide positive life experiences. Jasper has delivered on all those fronts.”
A large measure of that embrace comes from the organization’s own board of directors. In the press release for the announcement, chair Douglas Goss said that Riopel has demonstrated terrific leadership in his short time with the team.
“The Board of Directors of Tourism Jasper feels truly fortunate to have Mr. Riopel leading our organization,” Gross said.
