Tourism & Recreation
Overview
Alberta’s tourism industry offers visitors a wide variety of attractions ranging from natural scenic beauty, diverse landscapes, world renowned national parks, bustling shopping areas, festivals, and athletic events. Tourism supports more than 103,000 jobs for Albertans, and generated an estimated $5.1 billion in revenues in 2005. More than half of this amount, about $2.6 billion, came from out-of-province visitors. (Highlights of the Alberta Economy 2007, Alberta Government, http://www.alberta-canada.com/statpub/economicHighlights/pdf/highlightABEconomy.pdf, pg17)
The BRAED region of east central Alberta contains a vast assortment of landscapes including flat plains and rolling hills, winding rivers and sparkling lakes, jagged hoodoo formations and warm, open skies. The region’s many tourist attractions and venues are easily reached via well-maintained highways. Tourism opportunities and amenities are plentiful throughout the region.
Opportunities
In a 2002 Criterion Research study conducted on behalf of Travel Alberta, 88 per cent of respondents said they would prefer a slow-paced and stress-free vacation. They indicated they also want to include experiences such as education components (90 per cent), physical activity (90 per cent), being able to sit back and relax (87 per cent), visit Alberta’s farm and ranch heritage (70 per cent), and horses and riding (63 per cent).
Vacations or outings are seldom taken alone. So when a family or a group is considering a destination, they want to know if the destination offers something that meets the needs of all members of the travel group.
Agri-tourism experiences have increasing tourism appeal and they are found throughout the BRAED region.
- Shopping at a farmers market stands out as the agri-tourism experience that respondents are most likely (88 per cent somewhat or very likely including 61 per cent very likely) to take part in. Other event related activities that involve people gathering at a certain place, such as attending country fairs (74 per cent somewhat or very likely including 38 per cent very likely) and rodeos (65 per cent somewhat or very likely including 36 per cent very likely) are also popular with the majority.
- Food related activities such as sampling regional foods (77 per cent somewhat or very likely including 38 per cent very likely), visiting a market garden (72 per cent somewhat or very likely including 38 per cent very likely) or attending fall country suppers (73 per cent somewhat or very likely including 36 per cent very likely) enjoy high levels of popularity.
- Horse related activities such as experiencing a cowboy lifestyle (64 per cent somewhat or very likely including 32 per cent very likely), horseback riding in the foothills (64 per cent somewhat or very likely including 37 per cent very likely) and horseback riding in the prairies (59 per cent somewhat or very likely including 31 per cent very likely) are also popular with the majority of respondents.
- Other available activities include visiting a provincial park or a bird sanctuary, hiking, sight-seeing, and visiting a museum.
Many of these opportunities will work well together when marketed as a package. For more information about tourism opportunities in this region, contact the BRAED office.
Success Stories
The BRAED region is populated by many tourism related initiatives. Communities in the eastern portion of the region participate in the Alberta Trail of the Buffalo, which focuses on the area’s historical attractions. For further information, visit the website at www.albertabuffalotrail.org.
The Kalyna Country Ecomuseum is a 20,000 square kilometre natural heritage tourism region in the picturesque parkland area of east central Alberta. It borders the provincial capital, Edmonton, and extends towards Lloydminster on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. The Ecomuseum showcases the area’s many features including a living history, vibrant culture, natural beauty, great recreation, and unique and award winning attractions in the world’s largest ecomuseum. Visit the website at www.kalynacountry.com.
The Waskahegan Trail is a 235 kilometre-long volunteer-managed trail allowing excellent day hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing in the western portion of the BRAED region. A trail map and other information can be accessed at www.waskahegantrail.ca.
In the northern portion of the BRAED region the 251 kilometre Boomtown Trail begins at the City of Camrose; in the south, it begins just 40 kilometres east of the City of Calgary at the Town of Strathmore. There are 41 communities along the trail. Enroute, the grandly designed clapboard facades of older structures offer wonderful examples of “boomtown architecture”, buildings that were hurriedly constructed in the early 1900s as towns were mushrooming along newly established railway lines. For information, go to www.boomtowntrail.com.
Other activities and venues in the region include the Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site at Forestburg; the Bodo aboriginal archeological site near Provost; the Day at the Gallery art sale and show, held bi-annually in Alliance; the Wainwright Buffalo National Park Interpretive Centre at Wainwright; the Viking Cup hockey tournament and the Big Valley Jamboree outdoor concert held each year in Camrose; the Majestic Theatre in Bashaw; and the Ribstones aboriginal historic site at Viking, to name a few.
