The Alberta government hopes to make it easier for developers to build all-season resorts on Crown land, boosting tourism outside the busy summer season.
Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said Alberta has been missing out on tourism opportunities for decades while British Columbia, next door, has capitalized on all-season resort development in a big way.
Alberta’s proposed Bill 35 is modelled after BC’s All-Seasons Resort Policy, which has been in place for 20 years.
According to the BC government, the policy regulates all resorts operating on Crown land, from huge four-season operations like Whistler Blackcomb to small family-owned fishing lodges. Furthermore, BC’s resort sector employs 26,000 people and is worth $1.9 billion annually.
A win for BC is a loss for Alberta, said Schow.
“There are incredible business owners and entrepreneurs in this province with some great ideas, but it is a difficult process,” Schow said at a news conference in early November. “We’re going to make it easier.”
If Bill 35 – the All-Seasons Resort Act – passes, it would give 99-year leases to approved projects and set no limits on the size of a resort proposal. Schow predicted it would add $4 billion to the province’s tourism economy in a decade.
CBC reported that Schow provided no details on how the Tourism and Sport Ministry calculated this impressive-sounding number.
Growing Alberta Tourism
Bill 35 is all part of a plan to grow visitor spending from $10 billion to $25 billion annually by 2035.
The resort industry likes what it’s hearing.
Darren Reeder, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta, said Alberta has a “tourism deficit” with BC.
“Albertans are spending about $2 billion more in B.C. than they’re spending in Alberta. They’re going there for the four-season resorts,” Reeder told Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Christopher Nicolson, president and CEO of Canada West Ski Areas Association, called it “an important and meaningful advancement that will help Alberta compete on the global stage.”
”Destination development helps communities throughout the province diversify their local economies and employment opportunities and improves the quality of life for residents through physical and mental wellbeing,” Nicolson said in a joint media release with the provincial government.
It’s all good if it’s done to protect the “natural assets” that Alberta wants to sell to tourists and visitors, said Kennedy Halvorson, conservation specialist with Alberta Wilderness Association, in an interview with CBC.
Halvorson said the province needs to consult with impacted local communities before opening the floodgates to ensure they’re prepared for an influx of visitors.
According to Halvorson, strong protection for biodiversity and nature around resorts and ensuring private development doesn’t restrict public access to Crown land are among the other important things Alberta needs to consider if Bill 35 gets the green light.
A recent survey by the Alberta Government shows overwhelming support for affordable, accessible parks with minimal fees and limited commercial development.
It will be interesting to see if most Albertas look forward to more options for all-season resorts in their province or whether they prefer crown lands to stay as they are.
So far, discussions on Reddit have shown that most respondents do not favour commercializing crown land.
