CANADA: 90,000 Visitors From China Expected In Alberta

Businesses in Banff are busy preparing for a new generation of tourists from China.

More Chinese millennials than ever are travelling — and Travel Alberta is organizing workshops for hundreds of hotel and restaurant staff across the province to be ready for them.

"We know millennials will outpace any other group," said an American hospitality trainer Daniel Crain, speaking ahead of a workshop in Banff on Thursday, following sessions in Edmonton and Calgary.

"The group travel will never go away, but the millennials are really taking over," Crain said.

Travel Alberta says the province can expect around 90,000 visitors from China this year. That's about 50 per cent more than a few years ago.

Unlike their parents, Crain says the millennials want rental cars rather than tour buses, and constant Wi-Fi access with clear instructions.

And social media is how to connect with Chinese tourists these days, he added.

"That is how everything is happening, and that is the way that this group is definitely going to travel. It's usually couples — more married than not married. These are not the party people that are coming for a good time. They're coming here to have an experience."

They're also more likely to want to do outdoor sports and share their experiences with friends back home through social media.

"We're seeing skiing — a lot of skiing — because of the 2022 Olympics.

Canada has a great opportunity because lots of Chinese students are coming here to learn how to be ski instructors and going back to China," said Crain.

The average stay is six to nine nights.

CANADA: Alberta Welcomes Tourism Delegates In Freezing Temperatures

Alberta’s deep freeze isn’t enough to deter tourism officials from welcoming a large delegate from overseas, in hopes of boosting the bottom line.

DERTOUR Academy has brought over 600 travel agents and journalists from Germany, Austria and other European countries to Alberta, to tour the best of the prairies.

Throughout the week, the group has spent time in Banff and Lake Louise, as well as Calgary landmarks like Heritage Park and the science centre.

“Yesterday we stayed in Canmore, it was very nice. We had a hiking tour, we went on the helicopter, it was exciting!” says travel agent Manuelr Lorenz.

“It’s pretty cool that we can be here and that we get the invitation from Alberta, so that’s great for us to go home and tell the people to come over,” adds Ralph Seidel, who is also a travel agent.

Officials from Travel Alberta expect their $800,000 investment will pay off.

“All previous hosts have told us we can expect anywhere from about a 15 to a 40 per cent lift in revenue at the very conservative end, and that means about $16 million dollars for extra income for Alberta,” explains Bruce Okabe.

Germany is Alberta’s second largest overseas market, and the average traveller spends an estimated $1,027 per person over 10 days.

CANADA: Travel Alberta Increases U.S. Campaign With $10B Tourism Goal By 2020

After a “strong” summer for tourism in the province, Travel Alberta is hoping to grow tourism to $10 billion by 2020.

Spokesperson Jennifer Anderson said tourism is currently an $8-billion industry that supports 127,000 jobs in Alberta.

She said the United States is still the province’s largest international market, and pointed to an opportunity for increasing visitation and spending from the $703 million American visitors contributed in 2013.

Travel Alberta noted the exchange rate is contributing to a greater value for their dollar north of the border, and highlighted a digital platform that appeals to people who increasingly book trips online.

Travel Alberta, Tourism Calgary and Destination Calgary are promoting specifically to people in Texas, California and New York with a campaign that launched Oct. 1.

Anderson said U.S. visitation is already up, with drivers from U.S. to Alberta increasing by five-and-a-half per cent in Aug. 2014.

She added summer 2015 was “strong” in Alberta, with national park attendance up more than five per cent; Waterton up 14.6 per cent; and historical sites and museum visitation up 23.7 per cent. But two places didn’t see a boost in numbers: hotel occupancy rates in Calgary and Edmonton are down.

However, Anderson said “winter tourism providers” are seeing strong numbers from the U.S. compared to this time last year, and pointed to lower occupancy rates and early booking incentives.

“Hotel operators in our resort towns are reporting strong bookings for 2016,” said Anderson in an email. “Winter experience providers and ski operators are also reporting strong numbers for winter 2015-16.”