I’m off to present at the Alberta Tourism Advocacy Summit this morning in Edmonton. If you’re one of the 41 million or so Canadians who won’t be there, this Twenty-Four provides a sneak peek at how the province’s tourism industry is faring.

Tourism is a sector that can be overlooked amid the geopolitical noise. It shouldn’t be. It’s a major industry with visitor spending in Alberta hitting $14.4 billion in 2024.

And while some industries struggled, tourism quietly had a great year in 2025. Based on our assessment, it is poised to do the same in 2026. Let’s call it the sleeper pick of early last year.

Here’s a quick run-down of recent performance:

Foreign spending has jumped. In the second quarter of 2025 (latest available), there was a whopping 25% year-over-year increase in spending in Alberta by non-resident visitors to Canada. Sizable gains came from both American and overseas tourists. The first quarter was quieter, but that stellar second quarter meant spending was up 18% in the first half over the same time in 2024.

Looking at pre-COVID levels, Alberta also leads in growth. Foreign spending in Alberta rose 74% in the first half of 2025 vs. the first half of 2019. B.C. is second with a 50% gain, while the national increase over this period is 27%.    

More visitors from abroad, including from the U.S. Using more timely 2025 data, entries into Alberta from international destinations were up 10.8% year-to-date (YTD) through November, including a 6.8% increase from the U.S and 23.6% from other (non-U.S.) destinations. Alberta is far outpacing other provinces, with non-resident entries into Canada roughly flat last year (-0.4% YTD).

Fewer visits to the U.S. At the same time, Canadians have cut back on travelling stateside, and the most obvious explanation is ongoing trade tensions. The drop was 11.2% YTD among folks leaving Alberta. But it’s been a much sharper pullback elsewhere in the country. Nationwide, Canadian travel to the U.S. was down 25.2% YTD.  

A supportive loonie. As we discussed last week, a weak-performing U.S. greenback (the so-called de-dollarization trend) should provide a boost to the loonie. But what we’ve observed instead is a Canadian dollar still holding near $US 0.73/CDN$. In fact, the loonie has weakened against other currencies like the euro and pound. Our forecast sees only a mild appreciation over the forecast with the loonie at 0.73 in 2026 and 0.75 in 2027, still offering value to American tourists.

Jasper recovery. It’s still not business as usual, but visitors have returned to Jasper following the devastating fires of summer 2024. Park attendance is now tracking near pre-fire levels and hotels are busy. However, with fewer rooms available due to the fires and planned renovations, night stays are still not back to normal (on a personal note, I’ve been back several times since the fire with the family - same beauty, hospitality and charm).  

Keeping it local. Alberta tourist destinations are popular, but sometimes that means it’s hard to find enough product (hotels, conference venues, restaurants, etc.) to meet the demand, especially at peak season.

One idea is to create more all-season destinations, which is exactly what the Alberta government has recently designated for Nakiska, Castle, and Fortress.

A side benefit is that it could keep more spending at home. As we’ve discussed, Alberta runs a travel deficit with B.C. That is, Albertans spend more money when travelling to B.C., than British Columbians spend in Alberta - a travel deficit of about $1.2 billion using 2019 data (latest available). B.C. is known for its own all-season resorts. The thought is that if Alberta could provide something similar, more Albertans may elect to vacation inside the province.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Peter Tertzakian’s best-selling book “A Thousand Barrels a Second” came out in 2006.

Today’s trivia question: Where in Alberta can you find the world’s largest kielbasa statue?