Tourism in Alberta 2017

High level summary of key tourism statistics in Alberta

In 2017, Alberta saw a total of:

  • $8.9 billion in tourism expenditures – an increase of 5% from the previous year
  • 36.9 million person-visits – an increase of 6.1% from the previous year

2017 Tourism Expenditure and Visitation in Alberta by market

*Small sample size. Data contain high margin of error and are subject to significant year-over-year fluctuations.
Source: Statistics Canada, International Travel Survey and Travel Survey of Residents of Canada.
Market of origin Tourism Expenditure Person-visits
Canada $6.8 billion 34.9 million
United States $847 million 941,000
United Kingdom $188 million 157,000
China $172 million 140,000
Japan $132 million 73,000
Australia $116 million 95,000
Germany $109 million 98,000
South Korea* $58 million 58,000
The Netherlands $ 41 million 43,000
Mexico* $23 million 21,000

Alberta’s tourism industry contributes to the provincial economy with:

  • 127,000 tourism jobs (full-time equivalent employment)
  • $9.3 billion in contribution to Alberta’s GDP (direct, indirect and induced)
  • $2.4 billion in federal tax revenue
  • $1.2 billion in provincial tax revenue
  • $508 million in local tax revenue

Source: Alberta Economic Development, Trade and Tourism (2015 numbers)

Visitor profiles by region

Visitor profiles provide information on visitor origin, purpose of trip, accommodation, length of stay, seasonality and spending in Alberta and tourism regions.

Alberta

There are two visitor profiles for Alberta. One is a high level summary for all the visitors to Alberta and the other one is a detailed visitor profile for domestic visitors to Alberta.

Tourism region

You can find archived visitor profiles at Open Government.

International visits and spending

See statistics on overnight person-visits and expenditures from specific countries between 2000 and 2017 while in Alberta.

Economic impact of tourism in Alberta by region

Economic impact studies provide a snapshot of an entire existing economy at a specific point in time.

It follows spending associated with tourism activity to identify changes on employment, income and government tax revenue at regional and provincial levels.

You can find archived economic impact studies at Open Government.

Contact

Connect with the Tourism Research unit:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-641-9326
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Fax: 780-422-1759
Email: tourism.research@gov.ab.ca

Address:
Economic Development, Trade and Tourism
Tourism Research unit
6th Floor, Commerce Place
10155 102 Street
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 4G8