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The COVID-19 pandemic tanked tourism around the world, Alberta included, but the sector has since rebounded, new numbers show.

According to Travel Alberta data, tourism spending accounted for $10.72 billion in 2022, up $600 million from 2019 levels, and up $4.38 billion from the height of the pandemic in 2021.

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In a statement, Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said the bounceback in visitors has positive impacts for the province.

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“Thanks to the unwavering support of our visitors, the dedication of our industry partners and the resilience of our destinations and operators, Alberta’s tourism industry is recovering faster than expected,” Schow said.

The boost to pre-pandemic spending levels came two years ahead of schedule, according to the government.

“The recovery and growth of Alberta’s visitor economy motivates everything we do, and we are encouraged to see that the tourism industry is bouncing back strongly,” Travel Alberta chief commercial officer Jon Mamela said in a statement.

“Travel Alberta is proud to play a part in driving economic growth, job creation and the revitalization of industries that depend on tourism across Alberta, and we are committed to continue working with businesses to propel its growth.”

Staycationing

But while tourism spending was up, it’s largely due to big numbers of Albertans and Canadians spending money at home, coupled with inflation and growing demand for luxury travel.

In 2019, Albertans spent $5.7 billion within the province, and Canadians spent $1.6 billion coming here.

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Those numbers have jumped to $6.3 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, overseas travellers accounted for just under $800 million in tourism spending last year, compared to $1.3 billion in 2019. U.S. visitor spending is still about $260 million off 2019 levels.

Big-spending Brits

While some country’s visitors have yet to return in large numbers — China, Australia, Japan and South Korea are still well below pre-pandemic spending levels — visitors from the U.K. are heading back and opening their wallets.

Visitors from the United Kingdom spent $183 million in Alberta last year, coming up just shy of their $200-million spend in 2019.

The U.K. is followed by Australia ($77.4 million) and Germany ($77.2 million).

Visitors from Mexico, meanwhile, have topped pre-COVID spending numbers, even while making up a small portion of tourism dollars, jumping from $21 million to $37 million.

Go west

Alberta was a key destination for other Canadians looking for a getaway.

Ontarians doubled their pre-pandemic spending in Alberta, dropping nearly $1 billion on visits to the province, followed by British Columbians at $772 million and Saskatchewan (all those Roughrider road games, surely) at $522 million.

Only Atlantic Canada fell short of pre-pandemic tourism spending in Alberta.

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