The value of tourism is being highlighted in the recent annual report put out by Tourism Lethbridge.
CEO Erin Crane states with the most recent report they worked to explain the value of tourism and the importance it has on economic growth a little more. Adding the 5.5 per cent increase in visitor spending reported in 2024 comes from multiple segments of the industry.
“We’ve got accommodations, restaurants, retail, attractions, entertainment, transportation. So when you add all of those and the visitors that we bring in from all over, whether they’re hitting one of those segments or all of those segments, that’s really what contributes to that big growth in visitor spending that comes into our community,” Crane says. “That’s really what we want to see. It’s nice when we see a lot of visitors coming to Lethbridge, but more importantly, it’s about the dollars that they spend while they’re here.”
The report also includes results from two major surveys the organization conducted last year with industry stakeholders and government partners to see what they want to see from tourism. Along with the industry survey, Crane says another survey was done with Lethbridge residents to see how they see tourism and where they think there are areas for growth.
“We are taking that information into account when we build our long-term strategy moving forward… What we were really excited to hear is that just like us seeing the impact of tourism on the economy, they also see the impact of tourism on the local economy and they’re excited about the opportunities in tourism.”
Looking towards 2025 Crane explains the organization is excited to have found a formula that works when it comes to hosting promotional events and working with community partners such as the City of Lethbridge. She adds that 2025 and the current situation between Canada and the U.S. is an opportunity for the Lethbridge region with people looking to spend their tourism dollars closer to home.
“Uncertainty is never a fun thing and it is going to hurt a lot of our economic industries. But that is also an opportunity for us here in Lethbridge because we do have the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites just within a short drive, and people can use Lethbridge as the hub for those adventures.”
“This has been our strategy. We’re not really doing much different. We’ve always kind of targeted that major market segment up in Calgary and Edmonton and even a little bit into BC and into Saskatchewan to get those people travelling here to Lethbridge.”
Crane adds while the Lethbridge-based organization continues on that journey, some of the strategies from other groups at the provincial level have changed, giving the city and region another boost.
