CALGARY — The Travel Alberta Industry Conference, held at Fairmont Banff Springs this week celebrated the importance of tourism to Alberta’s economy. The annual event brought together people from across the provincial tourism industry to learn, advocate, develop and celebrate their roles as entrepreneurs, leaders in marketing and pillars of the provincial economy.

During the conference, the Honourable Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism, and Royce Chwin, CEO, Travel Alberta, discussed the significance of the Alberta visitor economy and its importance to provincial economic growth, diversification and job creation.

“The incredible growth of Alberta’s tourism sector, which includes more than 35-million visits and a record $8.5 billion in spending, clearly demonstrates its importance to the future of our province,” says Miranda. “Events like the Travel Alberta Industry Conference enable us to connect with tourism industry leaders and stakeholders who are committed to the continued development of new destinations, attractions and experiences. By working together, we can respond to common challenges and maximize opportunities to ensure the success of our tourism industry.”

Keynote speakers at the conference included Avinash Kaushik, the Digital Marketing evangelist for Google; Darby Allen, former Fort McMurray Fire Chief; and travel writer and industry expert Doug Lansky. The three-day event also featured a number of education sessions spanning a wide array of industry topics, including marketing, cannabis, tourism development, travel technology, Indigenous tourism and Chinese travellers.

“Our responsibility and our bottom line, as Alberta destination promoters, is to increase tourism dollars flowing into the province,” says Royce Chwin, CEO, Travel Alberta. “We set an ambitious but attainable goal of $10 billion in tourism revenue by 2020 and that is well within our sights. What we hope Albertans see is that our focus on destination marketing plays a major role in the destination development, leading to economic success of communities, cities and regions — creating a place where others want to live, work and play. We need everybody on board.”

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