Alberta is a nature lover’s paradise, Travel + Leisure has let its readers know. In this file photo, an example of Alberta’s official provincial mammal, the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, grazes far above the Athabasca River in Jasper National Park. Photo by Features West Studios
Alberta’s allure as a travel destination keeps leaping from the pages of magazines with international sway — so let’s build on that, an Livingstone-Macleod MLA Chelsae Petrovic told her legislature colleagues recently.
“This recognition is more than a point of pride,” Petrovic said. “It’s also an opportunity.”
Travel + Leisure ranked Alberta among its top 50 places to visit in 2026. Absent from the list were other Canadian destinations.
Awards put on by Wanderlust magazine in the U.K. and National Geographic have both also singled out Alberta and its tourism sites for praise.
The western province shared the Travel + Leisure spotlight in a category titled Destinations for Nature Lovers with 10 other locales. Among those featured were Guatemala, New Zealand, Asturias in Spain, the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik.
Gushing over “the hallucinatory blue” of Moraine Lake and the province’s “amazing wildlife,” Travel + Leisure also mentioned fly fishing, heli-hiking and mountain biking.
Jasper’s recovery after 2024’s destructive wildfires earned respect from the magazine, which also singled out Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge renovations, the redevelopment of Rimrock Resort in Banff, thermal wellness facilities coming to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the anticipated reopening of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
Petrovic noted that tourism supports 260,000 jobs and contributes over $11-billion a year to the province’s GDP.
“As we look ahead to 2026, let’s continue to invest in Alberta’s tourism sector and ensure that visitors from around the globe experience everything that makes our province extraordinary, prosperous and unforgettable,” she said.
Travel Alberta estimates tourism spending in the province at $12.8-billion in 2023 and $14.4-billion for last year, with Alberta leading the nation in year-over-year growth. Visitors totalled about 38-million last year.
The province aims to help push the tourism economy to $25-billion in spending by 2035.
Travel + Leisure, published 12 times a year and based in New York City, boasts a circulation of more than 950,000 copies and claims a readership of about 4.8-million.
Presented recently in London, U.K., Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards named Alberta the world’s most desirable region. And last month National Geographic named Alberta a top travel spot, “reinforcing what we already know,” said Petrovic.
“Our province is a world-class destination for adventure, culture and [natural] beauty,” she said.
“From the epic peaks of the Canadian Rockies to the blue skies that line our rolling prairies, Alberta offers landscapes that will truly take your breath away, and our hospitality is second to none,” she continued. “Our towns and cities offer something for everyone.”
