A message from Mark Parsons of ATB Economics:
Can you think of an industry more impacted by the pandemic than tourism? International travel came to a virtual halt, depriving the industry of revenues.
Given the severity of the disruptions, it's hard to imagine that tourism spending could ever recover. But that's exactly what has happened.
Recently released data show that foreign visitor spending in Alberta (that is, spending by non-resident visitors to Canada) hit a record high in the first half of 2024 at $1.2 billion. That's 6.6% higher than the same time last year, with spending up across all categories.
It was overseas visitors that contributed the most in the first half, spending $621 million — up 13.7% from the first half of 2023. Spending by Americans accounted for $592 million, on par with the same time last year.
Taking a longer view, foreign visitor spending in Alberta was 36% higher than in the first half of 2019 — prior to the pandemic. That's the largest increase among the provinces and far outpacing the national 9% increase. (Statistics Canada publishes data between Q1 2018 and Q2 2024, but notes methodology changes in 2020 that may impact comparisons over time.)
Foreign tourist spending provides a significant boost to the province, as it is "incremental" or new money coming in. But it is just one component of tourism spending. The other larger categories are spending by other Canadians and Albertans themselves.
Learn more in this edition of The Twenty-Four.
For more number-crunching on Alberta's economy, visit The Twenty-Four Seven by ATB