There is no shortage of natural wonders and travel destinations in Alberta’s north. The biggest draw for visitors isn’t the boreal splendour or isolated lakes, however, it’s the people who live there.
There were 1.4 million domestic visitors to the northern Alberta each year, according to the most recent national travel survey released by Statistics Canada. The top trip purpose, equalling about a third of all tourists, was to visit friends and family.
It should come as no surprise then that 93 per cent of visitors are from elsewhere in Alberta.
All in, tourists spent over $407 million in the region in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available. Visitors from Ontario and B.C. were the largest markets after in-province travellers, though each contributed only four per cent of the total tourism spend.
International tourists might spend more on average when they visit, but they still only represent a tiny slice of the tourism pie. The government of Alberta’s tourism department is hoping to reshape that trend and get more northern Alberta landmarks on the minds and itineraries of travellers.
Around 60 per cent of all visitors, and 75 per cent of tourism expenditures, go to just five places in the province: Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore, Jasper, Calgary and Edmonton.
The province’s tourism strategy includes developing ten additional ‘emerging’ destination zones, including the Lakelands, Wood Buffalo, and Northern Rockies regions.
A report from Travel Alberta on the Lakelands tourism zone identified the region as having high market potential for tourism but scored it low on destination readiness and maturity. Among the factors holding back tourism in Lakelands were a lack of alignment and strategic vision throughout the zone between municipalities and stakeholders, and a limited appreciation for the industry compared to other sectors.
Somewhat paradoxically, while residents are more skeptical of tourism's economic impacts than other parts of the province – only 24 per cent of Lakelands residents said they saw a direct impact of tourism on their day-to-day lives – they’re also more likely to appraise their communities as places worth visiting.
Compared to the provincial average, Lakelands residents were more likely to say they lived in vibrant community with lots to see and do, that their community offered experiences they wanted to tell people about, and that they would welcome more visitors to their community.
