In the face of global tourism’s most formidable challenge yet, Alberta tourism organizations and businesses are employing their trademark resourcefulness and staying connected with their customers and communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
And for Tourism Week 2020, Travel Alberta is celebrating the ingenuity, resilience, and community pride of Alberta’s tourism industry.
Before COVID-19, Alberta’s tourism businesses brought in $8.9 billion in revenue, supported by 22,000 businesses and nearly 73,000 jobs in every corner of the province.
Tourism was one of the most immediately and hardest-hit sectors.
But as their businesses closed to travellers, many companies opened their hearts to their communities - providing new ways to connect and share Alberta’s authentic experiences in breathtaking landscapes.
Throughout Tourism Week, Travel Alberta will be sharing stories of resilience, community pride, and engagement, exemplified by the businesses and organizations that comprise the province’s tourism sector.
Tanya Fir, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism, said: “Alberta’s tourism industry has been faced with unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we recognize there will be more challenges to overcome in the months and year ahead."
Fir said the province's tourism industry has proven to be caring, resilient and adaptive - and said the Alberta government is committed to responding and providing immediate relief, relaunching and supporting the sector through recovery, and rebuilding and positioning it for long-term growth.
Shelley Grollmuss, vice-president of industry development for Travel Alberta, said: “I’ve never been so proud to work in the tourism industry as I am right now.
"From cities to stables, farms to foothills, lakes to forests, our partners - the incredible people who work every day to showcase the beauty and wonder of our province - continue to make our communities, and our economies, prosper.
"While this summer and the foreseeable future will look very different for our industry, we will work together to restart and rebuild Alberta’s visitor economy, safely and responsibly."
Travel Alberta Tourism Week Activities
Travel Alberta is hosting five virtual events to connect industry partners and help them manage through the pandemic:
- Connections LIVE Webinar: The Alberta (re)Bound Strategy: May 25, 10:00a.m. MST. Shelley Grollmuss, Vice President, Industry Development, and Karen Soyka, Vice President, Business Development, will introduce Travel Alberta’s three-stage strategy to restart and rebuild the province’s tourism sector.
- Connections LIVE Webinar: Team Alberta Messaging to Restart Tourism in Alberta: May 26, 10:00 a.m. MST. Tannis Gaffney, Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing, will introduce Travel Alberta’s latest promotional efforts.
Attendees will get a preview of the creative ways we are encouraging Albertans to celebrate their province. - Connections LIVE Webinar: Funding Programs for Tourism Businesses: May 27, 10:00 a.m. MST. Shelley Grollmuss, Vice President, Industry Development, will outline new funding mechanisms available for tourism businesses, and how to apply.
- Connections LIVE May 28 webinar: Alberta’s Economy in a COVID-19
World: May 28, 10:00 a.m. MST. Todd Hirsch, Vice President and Chief
Economist, ATB Financial, will explore the impacts of the pandemic on tourism, and highlight potential bright spots as our economy adjusts to new realities. - Alberta Tourism Town Hall: May 28, 1:00 p.m. MST. Learn how Travel Alberta, the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Destination Canada, and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada are working together to support the province’s, and the country’s, tourism businesses.
For more information and to register go to https://industry.travelalberta.com/training-events/workshops-webinars
