Alberta tourism is soaking up a one-time, $7-million cash infusion for marketing and development to help tackle potential downturns in travel brought on by recent events at home and abroad.
The extra funding in last week’s budget was in response to a recommendation by the industry-led Strategic Tourism Marketing Council and an MLA-led tourism committee.
Both Calgary and Edmonton tourism regions will receive $700,000, while smaller regions will collect $400,000, adding up to just more than $3 million for the six tourism destination regions. The council will also advise government on where best to use the balance of additional funds.
“We are hopeful that this announcement will serve as a stepping stone to a greater, longer-term funding commitment by the province,” said Alberta Chamber of Commerce president Jason Reimer, adding that tourism marketing funding must be dependable, stable and predictable over the long-term to be successful.
The funding increase is subject to renewal for two additional years.
The Alberta Chamber is a federation of 127 chambers of commerce, which represent more than 22,000 businesses.
Economic Development Minister Mark Norris said the extra funding – tourism spending will jump from $19 million to $26 million this year – represents an increase of more than one-third over what tourism would otherwise have received in 2003.
“This announcement is a highly positive first step in the right direction,” noted Ken Fiske, Economic Development Edmonton’s vice-president for tourism, events and motion pictures. “We’ve been advocating a move toward sustainable funding for over four years.”
But Fiske said that compared to other provinces, Alberta is still selling itself short on tourism funding. B.C. annually spends $50 million, Ontario $60 million and Quebec $80 million. In addition, a move to convert the five-per-cent hotel room tax into a dedicated tourism promotion and marketing fund was deferred.
