Highway 3 Tourism Corridor advances next phase of tourism development in Southern Alberta

Posted on 14 September 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

  Contributed

Communities along southern Alberta’s Highway 3 are working together to advance the next phase of a regional tourism initiative designed to create a more connected visitor journey, strengthen local visitor economies and prepare the region for future tourism development and investment.  

Building on earlier work with Destination Canada, Travel Alberta and Destination British Columbia, this next phase focuses on helping communities define their ambitions for their visitor economies and identify the experiences, infrastructure and investment needed to achieve them.  “This next phase represents an exciting milestone for the Highway 3 Tourism Corridor,” said Amy Allred, Economic Development Manager for Taber Economic Development and project lead for the Highway 3 Tourism Corridor. “It reflects the strength of our regional partnership and allows us to continue building the capacity of our communities while creating a more connected visitor experience across southern Alberta.” 

Participating communities will complete updated tourism investment readiness assessments and take part in collaborative workshops to identify priority tourism opportunities, infrastructure and service gaps, and the practical steps needed to move projects from concept to implementation. By the end of the project, communities will have clearer priorities for tourism development, a stronger understanding of investment opportunities, and practical action plans to advance new visitor experiences, accommodations, attractions and supporting infrastructure. The work will also identify opportunities to better connect experiences across the corridor, creating more seamless itineraries and encouraging visitors to spend more time exploring southern Alberta.

Ultimately, the project will leave participating communities with investment-ready opportunities that can be ready to advance, stronger connections between visitor experiences across the corridor, and a shared roadmap for growing tourism in a coordinated and sustainable way.

The initiative will also utilize Tourismo, an agentic destination management platform that provides unprecedented destination intelligence to participating communities with shared visitor insights. By better understanding how travellers move throughout the corridor, partners will be able to make more informed decisions about destination development, regional marketing and future tourism investments.

As part of its Tourism Corridor Strategy Program, Destination Canada is a contributing funding partner in this phase, alongside previous investments from the Northern and Regional Economic Development (NRED) Program and participating corridor communities.  Together, these contributions represent a total investment of $165,000. Travel Alberta contributed tourism development expertise, analysis and advisory support throughout the project. 

“Destination Canada is proud to be a contributing partner and a catalyst in helping communities unlock the potential of their visitor economies,” said Gracen Chungath, Senior Vice President, Investment & Destination Development at Destination Canada. “The opportunity is not simply to attract more visitors, but to help communities intentionally shape the kind of tourism growth they want, showcasing what makes their place distinctive, welcoming visitors who value those experiences, and creating the right conditions for thoughtful development and investment. Highway 3 shows what is possible when communities work together around a shared vision for their future.”

The Highway 3 Tourism Corridor is a regional collaboration connecting communities across southern Alberta to strengthen tourism through shared destination development, collaborative marketing and regional partnerships. The initiative is focused on creating a seamless visitor experience while supporting sustainable economic growth for communities along the Highway 3 corridor.

Destination Canada’s Tourism Corridor Strategy Program supports the development of seven tourism corridors across Canada, bringing partners together across geographic boundaries to develop new visitor experiences and strengthen the conditions for long-term tourism growth and investment. The Sustainable Journeys: Prairies to Pacific Tourism Corridor explores the potential of Highway 3 and surrounding regions as a connected route across Alberta and British Columbia, linking rural and Indigenous communities, all-season destinations and distinctive landscapes.