Part of Travel Alberta's presentation at the Medicine Hat Lodge on Monday (photo courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Teagan Rasche

Stop two of 10

Alberta tourism town hall makes a stop in Medicine Hat

Mar 7, 2022 | 5:01 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – An Alberta Tourism town hall is making 10 stops across the province outlining the state of the industry as well as plans to rebuild and grow the visitor economy.

Today, the town hall made a stop in Medicine Hat.

Pre-pandemic, tourism was an $8.2-billion industry but was one of the hardest-hit sectors over the last two years. CEO of Travel Alberta David Goldstein says they’re hoping to fully recover the visitor economy by 2024.

“We are still looking a the final numbers,” Goldstein said. “Looks like we are going to be at $5.2 billion this year. That’s still three or so billion off our target and if we don’t face another wave, we are actually on track to our targets for 2024.”

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Various members of the community gathered at the Medicine Hat Lodge to listen to the presentations co-hosted by Travel Alberta and the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta.

Speakers highlighted the labour shortages the industry is currently facing as well as marketing campaigns aimed at attracting tourists from across Canada and the rest of the world.

The marketing campaign videos didn’t feature much of southeastern Alberta but Goldstein says Medicine Hat brings in tourists from sports tournaments and cultural events. Mayor Linnsie Clark is excited about welcoming more tourists here this year.

“We still have a lot of opportunities to collaborate within our region and with other areas in Alberta to figure out what’s the best approach to make Alberta a real destination,” Clark said.

The town hall’s next stop is Tuesday in Lethbridge.