Alberta considers leases for privately-owned resorts on Crown land

CANMORE – A new proposed provincial act aims to allow privately-owned resorts through long-term leases on Crown land to expand tourism in Alberta.

Minister of Tourism and Sport Joseph Schow tabled a new bill in the Alberta legislature Thursday afternoon (Nov. 7) that the provincial government says will aid the province's tourism strategy.

"We want to see some incredible plans come forward that will give us a chance to demonstrate the best Alberta has to offer," he said at a media conference. "These incredible four-season resort products will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but we'll also let the independent businesses – the investors – determine the risk on their projects."

Under the proposed act, a new regulator would be established that consolidates approvals and processes such as the Public Lands Act, the Water Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and associated regulations.

The act doesn't plan to change existing environmental standards or engagement requirements. Existing enforcement will be carried over but administered by the regulator.

If the bill is passed, an applicant for a long-term lease will need to have a master development plan that's approved by the regulator. For successful applications, a maximum 99-year lease will be offered.

As part of the bill, a minimum capital investment and royalty fees will be part of the policy and determined on a site-by-site basis and built into the lease.

Crown lands, which comprise about 60 per cent of the province, serve a multitude of purposes from outdoor recreation to helping conservation or exercising Indigenous treaty rights, tourism and resource-based industries.

An all-season resort would be a development that has activities, services and amenities available to the public throughout the year. It would have to have accommodations on-site and the necessary infrastructure to support the development.

In British Columbia, its longstanding all-season resort policy has more than a dozen such resorts on Crown land that is estimated to bring more than $2 billion into the B.C. economy annually.

Schow gave examples of Panorama Mountain Resort near Invermere, Fernie and Whistler as potentials in Alberta for year-round opportunities with multiple options ranging from mountain biking, skiing and spas.

"There is a real barrier in Alberta currently to make something like a four-season resort happen. If you talk to someone who loves to mountain bike, for example, you can't do that in Alberta at the moment. A lot of them go to B.C., so these are the kinds of things we're hearing people want to do here in Alberta. They want to stay here and I'm excited for the future of resort development in the province."

The Alberta government estimates an all-season resorts policy will help bring in an additional $2 billion in visitor spending each year and an extra $10 billion in GDP in the first 10 years if the bill is passed.

Darren Reeder, president and CEO of Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA), said his organization has heard there is high demand for such opportunities.

As Calgary and Alberta's population continues to expand and people visit Alberta, he said it was important to offer opportunities for outdoor recreation rather than have them potentially go to other locations.

"We need to make these connections that there are more opportunities, more landscapes in Alberta to be experienced," he said.

Schow echoed Reeder's comment, noting statistics highlight there's a high demand for such options.

"We have a real travel deficit with British Columbia where 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. ... There's a high demand from Albertans who want more opportunities to use Alberta land for enjoyment, responsibly and environmentally conscientiousness."

TIAA released a study in 2021 that indicated outdoor recreation contributed to $2.8 billion in GDP each year as well as $376 million being spent on outdoor equipment and accessories. The study also stated $551 million in tax revenue is generated through outdoor recreation at the time.

Reeder said the proposed act will help diversify and strengthen economies in the province. He noted he's consistently heard from Albertans about having outdoor recreation options.

"The act will support locally accessible resorts, inviting investment that strengthens our communities and provides skilled jobs in the outdoor recreation space," he said.

Rachel Ludwig, CEO of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis, added her organization has seen growing interest in "unique year-round experiences that our region has to offer."

She said it is an "incredible opportunity" for communities' economic well-being and environmental stewardship "by focusing development on well-managed areas."

Schow said the department has worked with industry groups, municipalities, and Indigenous groups for consultation as well as ministries such as Indigenous Relations, Environment and Protected Areas and Forestry and Parks in creating the act.

He said the provincial government doesn't have preferred areas, but would let the free market come forward with what it felt were the best opportunities.

"I wouldn't say there's one area in particular, so much as there's interest generally and once this is passed, it creates this path towards development and opportunity. I'm interested to see what comes in," Schow said.

"If there are existing sites that want to look at their lease agreement, then that will go through the process, but at the moment we're going to let the free market do what it does best, identify places where they think would be ideal for resort development and then it'll go through the regulator."

Schow highlighted hearing from Reeder there has been interest in coming forward with potential all-season developments in the past, but the process was disjointed, leaving investors to walk away.

"We're going to clean it up and make it an easier process while also maintaining the world class environmental standards we have here in Alberta," he said.

The act will also create administration of all-season resort areas, with the new regulator having authority on approved sites. It will also consolidate appeals from the Public Lands Appeal Board and Environmental Appeals Board.

Public consultation will be part of the process and a public notice period will be required for projects, but more specific information will be determined when the regulator is created.

If the bill is passed in the legislature, amendments will be made to the Public Lands Act regulation and the province will create an all-season resorts branch as the new regulator. The provincial government would also release an all-season resort policy.

The act will have parameters and scope of what the regulator can do and responsibilities, while the main decision-maker will be a director in the department

The province has ambitious goals of growing the tourism industry to $25 billion annually by 2035.

The strategy, released last February, focuses on rural tourism growth, increasing tourism and access, diversifying tourism to year-round options, aiding in labour shortages and increasing access to Indigenous tourism operators.

One objective outlined in the high level 12-page tourism strategy document is to "drive increased private capital for world-class, year-round nature-based tourism experiences, creating sustainable economic opportunities and increasing tourism revenues across the province."

A goal was to establish year-round resort zones and expand seasonal recreational areas into all-season resorts.

Invest Alberta, a Crown corporation dedicated to attracting investment to the province, has stated tourism contributes about $8 billion annually in revenue and more than 36 million visitors.

A 2018 Statistics Canada Travel Survey of Residents of Canada study echoed those numbers that there was $8.2 billion spent on tourism and 35.2 million visits.

Travel Alberta estimates there are roughly 68,800 tourism-based jobs in Alberta during 2018 and roughly 20,000 tourism-related businesses.

In the 2021 provincial budget, the Alberta government aimed to double tourism spending to hit more than $16 billion annually in 2030 as part of an ambitious tourism recovery plan.

In 2020, the government had forecasted collecting $92 million from the tourism levy, but decreased its expectations for 2021 to $25 million due to the pandemic and an abatement it applied during parts of COVID-19.

In 2021-22, the province collected $59 million from the levy. It forecasted $95 million in 2022-23, but ultimately collected $104 million. The estimates for the levy from 2021-22 went from $97 million for 2023-24 to being forecasted at $110 million in last year's budget.

The 2022 provincial budget had a target of $105 million by 2024-25 and $109 million in 2025-26, but the 2024 budget forecasted 2024-25 collecting $119 million and $124 million in 2026-27. The levy's revenue is collected from hotels and other lodgings.

In 2022, the province's visitor economy was worth $10.7 billion. The 2024 provincial budget forecasted tourism spending would grow to $13.2 million in 2025-26 and $14 billion in 2026-27.

Schow said a key aspect of the tourist strategy is expanding seasons of tourism options rather than relying on summer months.

"Expanding shoulder seasons is really important for our success overall in the tourism sector, so that we can see the visitation we need throughout the entire year and not just in small segments," he said. "This will also help us disperse visitors throughout the course of the year so they can have more things to do at one time. ... We want to have something for everyone."