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 Expenditures and Visitation in Alberta by market
| Market of origin | Tourism Expenditures | 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 |
In 2017, tourism spending by visitors contributed to the provincial economy with:
- 72,500 tourism jobs (full-time equivalent employment in person years)
- $7.3 billion in contribution to Alberta’s GDP ($4.3 billion direct, $1.8 billion indirect and $1.2 billion induced)
- $1.2 billion in contribution from taxes on products and services, including:
- $592 million in federal tax revenue
- $387 million in provincial tax revenue
- $186 million in local tax revenue
Source: Alberta Economic Development, Trade and Tourism (Statistics Canada Visitor Spending Model for Alberta – 2017 numbers)
The Government of Alberta collaborated with Statistics Canada to develop a new tourism visitor spending economic impact model for Alberta, which generates data based on visitors’ tourism spending in the province. The key indicators and assumptions from the new model differ from previous models.
For this reason, GDP, jobs and tax revenue data for tourism in Alberta from 2017 onwards cannot be directly compared to figures reported for 2015 and prior.
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 2 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
- Alberta central region
- Alberta north region
- Alberta south region
- Calgary and area region
- Canadian Rockies region
- Edmonton and area region
You can find archived visitor profiles at Open Government.
The raw data for total Alberta tourism, domestic tourism, and tourism by region is also available in Excel format.
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.
- Alberta (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- Alberta central region (PDF, 126 KB)
- Alberta north region (PDF, 167 KB)
- Alberta south region (PDF, 136 KB)
- Calgary and area region (PDF, 166 KB)
- Canadian Rockies region (PDF, 853 KB)
- Edmonton and area region (PDF, 806 KB)
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