The Central Alberta Tourism Alliance (CATA) has announced the release of the Central Alberta Agritourism Development Strategy. 

According to the strategy, it envisions Central Alberta as the province’s premiere destination for agritourism by 2033.

Building on the region’s strengths in agriculture, officials say the Agritourism Development Strategy captures Central Alberta’s opportunity to invite visitors in to connect with the people and places that bring the region’s agricultural heritage to life.

Officials say agritourism links agricultural production and processing with tourism as a way to share authentic, entertaining, and educational experiences with visitors while generating income and providing diversification opportunities for farms, producers, and related business owners. Agritourism can include everything from on-farm experiences like u-picks, farm stays, and tours to petting zoos and farm markets with connections to farm-to-table, local food, and culinary opportunities.

The study seeks to:

• Create a sustainable and collaborative framework to support agritourism development across the region.
• Increase the availability of agritourism product offered by farms and agricultural businesses.
• Clearly communicate agritourism as a key motivator for visiting Central Alberta.
• Drive regional economic growth and diversification of the visitor economy.

The Agritourism Development Strategy focuses on organizational development, marketing and promotional development, product development, and destination development as key areas of action. The Strategy advocates for the collaboration of industry, tourism operators, and communities across the region to develop a sustainable and well-supported framework and environment to advance agritourism as a thriving industry sector and tourism driver.

Officials say CATA, working with Expedition Management Consulting and Food Tourism Strategies, collected feedback from a variety of stakeholders including tourism operators, relevant organizations and associations, municipal representatives, the Government of Alberta, and Travel Alberta to gather input regarding the benefits of agritourism, existing agritourism assets, and the needs of industry.

According to officials, input revealed that the CATA region possesses significant strengths and assets in agritourism and agriculture through a range of farms, local food product, markets, farm attractions, eateries, and breweries. These assets are said to contribute to Central Alberta’s visitor economy, share and preserve the authentic regional heritage of residents, and help shape local appreciation for food, sustainability, and connections to land.