Travel & Hospitality Awards | Americas 2021 | www.thawards.com

Alberta
The wonderful history of tourism in
Alberta dates to 1885 when the
first national park in Canada, the Banff
National Park, was founded. Attracting
a small number of adventurous visitors
from around the country.
Then in the 1920s a series of roads
were built, hotels began to open,
and in the annual Calgary Exhibition
and Stampede event was founded.
This ultimately laid the foundation for
tourism to Alberta. Ever since, many
more historic landmarks have been
established and visitor numbers have
continually grown. Calgary, the biggest
city in the state, played to host to the
1988 winter Olympics, which enhanced
Alberta’s standing on the international
tourism scene. To date tourism has
contributed more than $8.5 billion to the
economy of Alberta.
Why is Alberta so special?
Simply put Alberta has a lot to offer.
The natural beauty of the area is
the obvious attraction, visitors can
expect serene lakes, snow topped
mountains, lush forests, diverse
wildlife, and unique rock formations.
The ruggedness of the area offers
ample opportunity to take part in
several outdoor activities such as
hiking, climbing, skiing, camping,
hunting, fishing, and watersports, on
the lakes.
Alberta also has an interesting past
from the indigenous cultures that
settled there for thousands of years
to the colonial frontier history from
the 17th to the 19th centuries.
The other lesser-known benefit of
visiting Alberta is the lack of sales tax
meaning you’ll pay less out of pocket
here than you would in other parts of
Canada.
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