SUNDRE – The municipality has been invited to participate in a Travel Alberta initiative to create destination development plans for tourism zones throughout the province.
Linda Nelson, the Town of Sundre's chief administrative officer, provided council with some background information during the regular Jan. 23 meeting.
“Sundre has been identified as one of the important areas for Alberta, along with a number of other regions in the province,” Nelson said, adding the intent is to have plans for the different zones completed by March.
“In 2021, Travel Alberta was given the expanded mandate to become a destination management organization,” she said.
Under that mandate, the Crown corporation that was established in 2009 is responsible for destination development in addition to promoting the province, she said.
Further elaborating, she said that as a driver, Travel Alberta strategically invests in destinations and experiences with the greatest potential for a return with the objective of creating jobs, supporting businesses and diversifying the economy.
As a convener, the organization brings together economic development bodies, businesses and governments, and also provides help navigating regulatory processes, she said.
To monitor and measure progress, Travel Alberta’s industry support is guided by 13 regions, each with their own unique cultural diversity and investment opportunities, she said, adding each zone is assigned a dedicated destination development manager to serve as a point of contact.
“Sundre has been invited to participate in this initiative,” she said, adding a kickoff meeting had recently been attended.
The municipality is essentially in the middle of a zone that stretches from Cochrane to Rocky Mountain House. Other municipalities in the region that were invited include Mountain View County, Bighorn County, Clearwater County, and Rocky View County, she said.
Since the initial meeting there has also been a number of focus group gatherings with stakeholders to begin discussing a vision statement for the region, she said.
During a presentation at one of those meetings, Nelson said they were informed the latest available statistical data indicates that more than nine million vehicles travel through Sundre every year.
“Last count, we thought it was at about eight million,” she said. “So, that is a drastic, drastic increase.”
Areas of focus for tourism include managed camping facilities, Indigenous tourism and experiences, winterized options for camping as well as outdoor recreation options, she said, later calling four-season destinations an important consideration.
“Travel Alberta sees tourism as a long game with vast, untapped potential to offer responsible travel that preserves nature and culture, creates prosperous communities by contributing to GDP and jobs, builds new infrastructure and amenities within communities, and improve quality of life for all Albertans,” she said.
The regional tourism zone destination development plans will provide a road map for collaboration, investment, marketing and programming for the next 15-plus years, she said.
“Tourism in Alberta is rebounding faster than in any other province,” she said, adding the industry that contributes some $9 billion to Alberta’s GDP was among the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic.
Nelson informed council she plans to attend a tourism summit in Edmonton next month and will continue to keep council updated.
Council accepted the report as information.
