Rene Rondeau (right), executive director, Tourism Red Deer, Nancy Paish (middle), board chair, Tourism Red Deer, and Lonny Kennett (left), Red Deer County councillor, speak at the beginning of an open house this week held at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Tourism Red Deer headquarters. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

goal is to be aggressive in coming years

Tourism Red Deer has sights set on being top major event destination

Mar 31, 2023 | 11:54 AM

Big… really big things, perhaps, are on the horizon for tourism and events in Red Deer and central Alberta.

Tourism Red Deer, celebrating its 35th anniversary, held an open house this week, speaking to attendees about its goal for the city and region to evolve into one of the nation’s go-to destinations for major events.

That’s where the term Destination Development Corporation (DDC) comes in.

In 2019, The City of Red Deer began talking about a major event strategy and destination development framework, a ship for which it has found someone to steer, and that someone is Tourism Red Deer.

With funding commitments from The City and The County to get the DDC off the ground, Tourism Red Deer has its sights set on being the first call major event organizers make.

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“We know how to do sports in this community, having hosted the Canada Winter Games, the Memorial Cup, and the World Juniors. We want to do regional events that bring people in from across Canada, and sports is a big piece, but there’s also the cultural side,” says Rene Rondeau, executive director, Tourism Red Deer.

“We’re thinking maybe the Junos, or the CCMAs. Who knows? There are a lot of events that might fit the bill, such as major conventions where all the hotels are being taken up.”

Rondeau notes potential for other events to grow, such as the annual international powwow and Agri-Trade.

“What’s exciting to me with this is having one organization heading this, which can evaluate events and streamline the process. We also have committees which we need more people to be a part of,” says Rondeau.

“We’re on the right track and have momentum, we have support from municipalities and stakeholders, and now it’s about taking that next step forward and building Red Deer into an even more amazing destination.”

Nancy Paish, Tourism Red Deer board chair in her sixth year on the board, says the organization has momentum, as evidenced by growing from 33 members in 2020 to 102 in 2022.

Paish, who mentions The Brier as another desired event, notes that when the goal of Red Deer becoming that top national choice was initially developed, the target was 2030.

“We’re still aiming to hit that. But we know there has to be some flexibility in terms of the recovery time tourism is going to need coming out of COVID. International travel is not yet at full capacity, and the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA) has predicted that won’t happen until 2026,” says Paish.

“We’re going to do our best to get as many tourists into the region in that time, and in the meantime, be as aggressive as we can in getting major events to the city.”

According to the TIAA’s tourism labour market update from February 2023, the size of the total tourism labour force in Canada decreased 0.8 per cent, and tourism employment went down half a percentage point. But in Alberta, those numbers spiked 4.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.

However, Alberta still lags 5.1 per cent behind pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

Statistics Canada also revealed this week that spending on tourism continued to grow last year, but remained well below pre-pandemic benchmarks.

Tourism expenditures between October and December rose for the seventh consecutive quarter, increasing by 2.1 per cent from the third quarter to $20.1 billion.

For the full year, tourism spending jumped 45 per cent as domestic and international travel roared back somewhat.

Paish admits it will always be difficult to beat out large cities for certain things, such as the Commonwealth Games which have been discussed recently in the context of a joint bid between Calgary and Edmonton. But despite not having a million people, Red Deer need not be excluded from being a major player in other arenas.

Paish says when Red Deer achieves its goal, it’ll be clear.

“It’s about being attractive for people producing events, and being on their first-call list, being accessible to them and having the information so that when we have the opportunity, we can jump in and be a part of something,” she says.

“You have to have all the information on hand, about what facilities you have, what assets you have in terms of what a producer is looking for, and be able to respond quickly. Another thing is knowing what we already have in the city’s and region’s events calendar, because we’ll want to touch those times where there are gaps that can accomodate a major event.”

Paish emphasizes this plan is regional, pointing out Tourism Red Deer has members in spots like Stettler, Clearwater County and Innisfail.

“This growth is for all of us. A major event may not be held in a smaller centre, but how do we get it to spill over into some of those communities?” she ponders.

“With residents of the area, advocacy is huge. Advocate for the Red Deer area to city council, to the province, and make sure your voice is heard on the importance of tourism.”

For more information, contact Tourism Red Deer.

(with files from The Canadian Press)