Tourism in Alberta has seen significant year-over-year increases. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

BUSINESS IN THE REGION

Medicine Hat-area tourism industry not worried by trade war, advocate says

Apr 11, 2025 | 3:54 PM

A key Medicine Hat advocate says he expects year-over-year tourism to the region to continue growing without any significant impact from an ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States.

Tourism industry revenues in Alberta have grown 10 per cent year-over-year, the province reported this week. That puts it on track to a second record-breaking year for annual visitor spending.

There isn’t any sense of nervousness or a bad mood among those who make a living off tourism, according to Jace Anderson, the executive director of Tourism Medicine Hat.

“I don’t know that any of the events that we celebrate and host and feature in Southeast Alberta are primarily U.S. visitor dependent,” Anderson said Friday.

POSTAL STRIKE

'Hands off my post office': Canada Post union says citizens have a role in service

Apr 14, 2025

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat firefighters raise $13K for muscular dystrophy with rooftop campout

Apr 14, 2025

POLICE

Severely injured deer euthanized at Kin Coulee Park on Saturday

Apr 14, 2025

“Our traffic should be relatively high, irrespective of whether or not those are American travelers or not.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of Canadians have chosen to travel within the country’s borders, according to Statistics Canada data.

While it may be some time until there’s evidence to point to a correlation between U.S. tariffs and an increase in domestic vacations in 2025, there are signs.

Short-term rental service Airbnb reported in March that searches for domestic stay this year are up nearly 20 per cent.

That same month Canadian visits to the U.S. plummeted amid anger over tariffs and annexation threats from President Donald Trump.

“A significant number of Canadians are rethinking their summer travel plans and it looks to be like the sustained choice is going to be for a number of Canadians to be spending a little bit more time closer to home,” said Anderson.

Jace Anderson, executive director of Tourism Medicine Hat, says he expects the growth in tourism to southern Alberta to continue. File Photo/CHAT News

“That appeals to a market like ours for a number of reasons and so we look forward to seeing that potential increase in Canadian traffic.”

As for the Americans, Anderson doesn’t anticipate much to change.

He explained many of the Americans who do travel through southern Alberta are en route to Alaska or the Rocky Mountains.

“Those are wonderful travelers to connect with at our Visitor Information Centre and at our campsites in the region because they have often an unstructured travel agenda,” Anderson said.

The play-it-by-ear approach for some Americans is an opportunity for local tourism to get their attention, he added.

Alberta’s annual visitor expenditures reached $12.7 billion in 2023, surpassing the previous record by 20 per cent, provincial officials said this week.

The available data for 2024 — from January to September — shows Alberta advancing this metric at a rate more than three times the national average.

From that period last year, tourism revenues reached $11.5 billion, compared with $10.5 million for the same period in 2023.

Alberta’s tourism minister Joseph Schow said the province won’t slow down.

“Alberta’s government will continue working to unleash the potential of the province’s tourism industry,” he said in a statement.

“The incredible tourism operators across the province will continue to show the world what we Albertans already know: Alberta is the best place in the world to live, play and visit.”