TIAA Submits Sub-Regional Plans Technical Guidance to Alberta Environment
- Tourism Industry Association of Alberta
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
The province of Alberta is conducting Sub Regional Planning engagement extensively over the next year and a half. TIAA has submitted a technical submission to Alberta Environment as part of this process.
The visitor economy is a core part of Alberta’s resource-based economy. Just like forestry, agriculture, oil and gas, and other traditional resource-based industries, the economic viability of tourism and outdoor recreation is inextricably linked to secure and dependable access to the resources: specifically, the features, settings, and incredible Alberta scenery upon which these sectors are established. Historically viewed as peripheral to industrial resource development, the visitor economy now drives significant rural diversification across all regions. This broader tourism and outdoor recreation sector (visitro economy) now supports 1 in 10 Alberta jobs, and generates over $15.2 billion in annual receipts for Alberta businesses.
In 2021, the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA) released a groundbreaking study detailing the economic impacts of tourism on Alberta Crown Lands. At that time, there was a persistent and growing concern that Alberta was losing out on recreation and tourism opportunities that neighboring provinces and other North American destinations had enabled decades ago. The report dived into a deep technical analysis of the distribution and spending of Albertans on outdoor recreation, which just prior to the pandemic totaled $2.3 billion in annual spending.
The report validated providing and enhancing Crown land outdoor recreation is critical for maintaining the longstanding traditions and way of life of Albertans. However, it is also essential to Alberta’s economic future. Of the six strategic levers identified half have direct opportunities for advancement through the provincial Sub-Regional Planning (SRP) processes:
Supportive Crown Policy
Investment and Renewal of Existing Crown Land Outdoor Infrastructure
Measuring and Monitoring the Outdoor Recreation Economy
All 6 levers focused on unlocking the potential of our tourism and outdoor recreation economies to attract new investment and businesses to the province, create more opportunities for Albertans and visitors to vacation at home, and slow the leakage of visitation and recreational assets that Alberta has been missing out on.
Ongoing tracking of Albertan travel spending deficits reveal economic leakage into many jurisdictions. Most notably into British Columbia, where Albertans spend over $1 billion more than BC residents spend in Alberta... every single year....
Plan for Parks: Amplifying the Call for Whole-of-Government Accountability
In 2024 and 2025 as part of Alberta Parks' engagements for the Alberta Plan for Parks, the core findings of the Crown lands study were further amplified by clear recommendations to:
Adopt an intentional, coordinated, and whole-of-government approach
Set clear accountabilities with high expectations
While legislative accountabilities for land management exist in Alberta, service-level accountabilities for the quality, quantity, relevance, or effectiveness of outdoor recreation and tourism efforts have remained ambiguous for over 25 years. These metrics are not defined in the Provincial Parks Act, Public Lands Act, or associated regulations. This lack of structure raises critical, unanswered questions on the ground: Who is explicitly responsible for facilitating auto-camping? Non-auto camping? Trails? Mountain biking, paddling, road cycling, climbing, or Via Ferrata? If so, to what extent, with whose involvement, and how well are these services being delivered?
To resolve these ambiguities, TIAA observed that future planning and land-use frameworks must be guided by the pillars established during the provincial engagements:
Conserve and foster the quality and integrity of Alberta’s high-value recreation resources and settings.
Focus on improving quality, sustainability, accessibility, diversity, and connectivity of outdoor visitor experiences.
Be guided by industry-leading approaches to develop systematic planning, policy, standards, operations, and monitoring. Modern frameworks, such as the Visitor Use Management Framework, allow for transparent and constructive navigation of contentious issues that have historically polarized and paralyzed previous regional efforts (e.g., motorized activities). The province should be actively deploying these proven systems.
Nurture internal recreation and tourism management expertise and sustain a core staff of dedicated professionals within government.
Actively foster and sustain involvement and relationships with municipal, non-profit, and private partners throughout outdoor recreation and tourism planning and implementation.
This submission was backed by data from the last Alberta Recreation Survey. 86% of Albertans reported to be actively enjoying the outdoors.
99% of Albertans believe recreation directly improves their quality of life.
However, reported significant barriers to participation still exist:
32% of Albertans living with a disability rate provincial recreation as very accessible
21% report lacking the skills or knowledge to participate,
with youth disproportionately impacted by cost and access constraints.
TIAA SRP Technical Submission
As part of the provincial process of Sub Regional Planning Engagements, and informed by completed SRPs to date TIAA submitted a technical submission on the SRP process. The submission carries forward the cumulative historical reports, surveys, which were used to build a technical framework. The guidance outlines what the Alberta tourism industry believes SRPs must consistently include to support the Government of Alberta's sector goals and approved policies.
In the 2026 TIAA-Leger Annual Tourism Business Conditions Survey, one in four Alberta tourism businesses stated that land-use certainty is a top factor in their investment and capital deployment decisions.
TIAA remains concerned that sub-regional planning thus far has lacked a consistent approach to outdoor recreation and tourism development. Future land-use decisions should directly implement the government's own established strategic foundations:
Higher Ground: A Tourism Sector Strategy (2024): Commits to growing the visitor economy to $25 billion by 2035 by establishing resort development zones, instituting clear land-use policies, and developing new products and experiences.
All-Season Resorts Policy (2025): Mandates that SRPs align with this policy and the All-Season Resorts Act to facilitate the future designation of All-Season Resort Areas.
Crown Land Recreation and Conservation Strategy (2026): Formally recognizes outdoor recreation as an economic driver requiring deliberate investment to enable diverse opportunities and empower partnerships.
Directives for Sub-Regional Plans
To achieve these strategic goals, TIAA recommends that the Government of Alberta ensure each Sub-Regional Plan consistently addresses the following seven directives:
Directive | |
1. Representation on SRP Task Forces | Permanently include regional and provincial tourism and outdoor recreation (motorized and non-motorized) representatives on all Sub-Regional Task Forces or Implementation Committees to evaluate land-use trade-offs and socio-economic impacts much faster. |
2. Meaningful Outcome Statements | Establish well-articulated, future-focused outcome statements that mandate sustainable sector growth and clear alignment with government policy, replacing passive language focused solely on the "management" of activities. |
3. Appropriate Use (Statutory Recognition) | Formally recognize outdoor recreation and tourism as permanent, sustainable, and legitimate land uses with statutory standing equal to other traditional resource-based sectors under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA). |
4. Appropriate Places (Spatial Designation) | Clearly identify and designate areas where the visitor economy is prioritized. Explicitly map and zone Recreation and Tourism Management Areas, All-Season Resort Interest Areas, and Trail Planning Areas to plan and protect these resources from incompatible land uses. |
5. Managed Stewardship | Formalize the role of commercial operators and professional non-profit associations in land stewardship via the Trails Act, mandate lost opportunity offsetting for recreational access, and adapt regulations to transition reclaimed industrial sites into recreation destinations. |
6. Statutory Stability & Investment Certainty | Establish designated tourism areas within the Regulatory Details Plan of each SRP to provide long-term operational predictability, and ensure access management policies do not prevent essential access to these designated zones. |
7. Implementation & Performance Reporting | Ensure that staff responsible for execution possess specialized expertise in outdoor recreation management and tourism development, supported by transparent, verifiable performance monitoring. |
Alberta has passed through a 25-plus-year window where outdoor recreation and tourism were viewed as low provincial priorities: occurring without a clear champion, cohesive vision, limited accountability, underfunded investment, and often disjointed or counterproductive efforts.
While recent policy developments and provincial investments are highly positive, Alberta remains far behind key competitive North American jurisdictions. Despite being blessed with remarkable outdoor spaces, we are not evolving at the pace we could be.
The submission encourages the Alberta government to make a highly intentional effort to bridge this gap by positioning itself as an integrated catalyst and facilitator of a diverse suite of high-quality outdoor experiences. However, this will only be possible if SRPs evolve beyond a narrow focus on "managing footprint" toward a modern stewardship model. We encourage Alberta operators in all regions, rural and urban, who value access to high quality recreation and tourism opportunties to submit their own feedback as well.
Read TIAA's technical submission:
How to Take Action for Operators
The Outdoor Council of Canada (OCC), supported by TIAA, has proposed a principled planning model where public and commercial access are recognized as self-reinforcing.
The OCC have provided a suite of easy-to-use tools to help businesses, operators, and managers frame their feedback effectively and quickly. Any of the suggestions can be edited to meet your organization's specific perspective.
Resources include a template letter, survey feedback guides, and additional information which can be accessed directly via the Outdoor Council of Canada Take Action Page.
Written submissions can also be emailed directly to provincial planners at ghost-kananaskis-srp@gov.ab.ca.
For broader context on active provincial planning timelines, visit the Government of Alberta Sub-Regional Planning Engagements portal.
