Inspire the world to experience Banff and Lake Louise.
Our Mission
20
Year in Review
23
Banff & Lake Louise Tourism Annual Report
Land Acknowledgement
Banff & Lake Louise Tourism is committed to walking a journey of truth and reconciliation.
We recognize that this is a continuous process, and we are eager to learn how to be better allies and friends of Indigenous Peoples.
We believe it is crucial to create opportunities for listening, contemplation, as well as actively contributing to a future founded on principles of equity, respect, and inclusivity. We are determined to be a part of this journey towards a more just future alongside Indigenous Peoples.
Today, in partnership with the Town of Banff and Parks Canada, we continue to foster meaningful and respectful partnerships while operating on the traditional territories of the Nations of Treaties 6, 7, 8, and in Métis homelands. We are headquartered in Banff, the ancestral territories of the Îyârhe Nakoda bands of Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney, the Niitsitapi of the Blackfoot Confederacy consisting of the bands Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, the Dené of Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Métis Nation.
We strive to actively involve and collaborate with our partners to ensure that we are working together to protect and promote the cultures and natural heritage of these lands. With that, we also acknowledge and honour the Ktunaxa and Secwépemc First Nations, the Peoples and Nations of Treaties 6, 7, and 8, and all Indigenous Peoples now living here in relationship with this sacred land.
We want to help create a better future alongside Indigenous Peoples. Elevating Indigenous tourism is an important commitment to envisioning the destination’s future. In 2023, we worked with our members, Indigenous Communities, Peoples and Businesses to raise cultural awareness and most importantly, to support Indigenous tourism as reconciliation in action.
Letter from the Chair and President & CEO
Last year was marked by strong performance from both the destination and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism.
As your destination marketing organization, our first objective was to Sustain Year-Round Demand. We had some great success and learned a lot. Prioritizing consumers seeking awe-inspiring, nature-based experiences, we encouraged them to stay longer and do more, driving visitation in need periods.
Our second objective was to Advance the 10-Year Vision for Tourism, titled Lead Tourism for Good. Published at the start of the year, the award-winning blueprint for a sustainable future was developed with the Town of Banff, Parks Canada, and the wider community. During the year, we took meaningful steps along each of the Vision’s “Trails to Tomorrow” – Visitor Experience, Community Wellbeing, Nature Positive and Climate Action, Indigenous Connections, and Smart Tourism.
We delivered highly rated visitor services to tens of thousands of people. We put on events that created a buzz and attracted visitors. We helped drive record transit use as a partner in the Transportation Shift campaign. Our Community Impact Program drew donations from business visitors to local causes. We supported the Mînî hrpa Indigenous cultural centre popup and sponsored cultural awareness programs for members. Our new website and Trip Builder gathered valuable data whilst helping thousands to plan ahead.
The year was not without its challenges. We saw a drop in the destination’s Net Promoter Score, which tracks visitor sentiment. While Banff and Lake Louise still have a strong reputation, we need to take this development seriously. We must work together to address visitor concerns like traffic, parking, and value for money.
Our third objective was to Improve Organizational Effectiveness and employee experience. We were financially responsible, diversifying and optimizing revenue, and controlling costs. And we collaborated to create a workplace that will lead by example, creating the foundation for our DEI Strategy.
We are so grateful to our members, partners, and community for everything you did during 2023 to take Banff and Lake Louise closer to our shared vision of a sustainable future for tourism. In closing, we want to celebrate our dedicated team, who worked hard to deliver another successful year for the tourism community. You were thoughtful, united, optimistic, and innovative.
Thank you.
Last year was marked by strong performance from both the destination and Banff & Lake Louise Tourism.
As your destination marketing organization, our first objective was to Sustain Year-Round Demand. We had some great success and learned a lot. Prioritizing consumers seeking awe-inspiring, nature-based experiences, we encouraged them to stay longer and do more, driving visitation in need periods.
Our second objective was to Advance the 10-Year Vision for Tourism, titled Lead Tourism for Good. Published at the start of the year, the award-winning blueprint for a sustainable future was developed with the Town of Banff, Parks Canada, and the wider community. During the year, we took meaningful steps along each of the Vision’s “Trails to Tomorrow” – Visitor Experience, Community Wellbeing, Nature Positive and Climate Action, Indigenous Connections, and Smart Tourism.
We delivered highly rated visitor services to tens of thousands of people. We put on events that created a buzz and attracted visitors. We helped drive record transit use as a partner in the Transportation Shift campaign. Our Community Impact Program drew donations from business visitors to local causes. We supported the Mînî hrpa Indigenous cultural centre popup and sponsored cultural awareness programs for members. Our new website and Trip Builder gathered valuable data whilst helping thousands to plan ahead.
The year was not without its challenges. We saw a drop in the destination’s Net Promoter Score, which tracks visitor sentiment. While Banff and Lake Louise still have a strong reputation, we need to take this development seriously. We must work together to address visitor concerns like traffic, parking, and value for money.
Our third objective was to Improve Organizational Effectiveness and employee experience. We were financially responsible, diversifying and optimizing revenue, and controlling costs. And we collaborated to create a workplace that will lead by example, creating the foundation for our DEI Strategy.
We are so grateful to our members, partners, and community for everything you did during 2023 to take Banff and Lake Louise closer to our shared vision of a sustainable future for tourism. In closing, we want to celebrate our dedicated team, who worked hard to deliver another successful year for the tourism community. You were thoughtful, united, optimistic, and innovative.
Thank you.
Shawn Birch
Board Chair
Leslie Bruce
President & CEO
Our Vision
A bold and disciplined marketing organization committed to the growth of the tourism economy and the curation of the destination brand.
Our Mandate
We focus on promoting sustainable, year-round visitation.
Through Marketing, we generate demand to attract values-aligned guests, encouraging them to stay longer, and experience more. This includes encouraging travel experiences and behaviours that drive more positive engagement with local communities and the Park as a whole, with the goal of leaving this place even better than it is now.
Through Destination Development, we catalyze and support the creation of tourism experiences that will attract and delight visitors, while remaining sustainable for the community, environment, and economy. This helps us to remain resilient and relevant as a place to visit for generations.
Through Marketing, we generate demand to attract values-aligned guests, encouraging them to stay longer, and experience more. This includes encouraging travel experiences and behaviours that drive more positive engagement with local communities and the Park as a whole, with the goal of leaving this place even better than it is now.
Through Destination Development, we catalyze and support the creation of tourism experiences that will attract and delight visitors, while remaining sustainable for the community, environment, and economy. This helps us to remain resilient and relevant as a place to visit for generations.
Our Team Values
Our team values guide the way we work:
• Be Thoughtful
We constantly strive to do the right thing – for our visitors, our partners, our environment, and ourselves. We stay true to ourselves and this place by taking the time to assess and understand situations before making decisions. Our motivations and actions are genuine.
• Be United
We value each other. We succeed as a team, each playing an important role in bringing this place to life. We support one another in working towards common goals and celebrate those accomplished together. All based on a shared belief that we can achieve much more as a group than we can on our own.
• Be Optimistic
We believe in each other and the goals we're working towards. We embrace challenges and adversity by pushing forward with optimism, ethusiasm, and an unbreakable spirit.
• Be Thoughtful
We constantly strive to do the right thing – for our visitors, our partners, our environment, and ourselves. We stay true to ourselves and this place by taking the time to assess and understand situations before making decisions. Our motivations and actions are genuine.
• Be United
We value each other. We succeed as a team, each playing an important role in bringing this place to life. We support one another in working towards common goals and celebrate those accomplished together. All based on a shared belief that we can achieve much more as a group than we can on our own.
• Be Optimistic
We believe in each other and the goals we're working towards. We embrace challenges and adversity by pushing forward with optimism, ethusiasm, and an unbreakable spirit.
20
Highlights
23
Our paid marketing was seen
times.
We ran Expedia campaigns which helped generate $10,381,753 in hotel revenue.
52943700
Paid marketing
impressions
52943640
International Markets
in destination revenue from international markets, driven by our 49 Joint Marketing Agreements.
58193100
$
International Markets
in destination revenue from international markets, driven by our 49 Joint Marketing Agreements.
58193100
$
394 business events leads, with a potential economic impact of $230,075,812.
We brought the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence's Incentive Summit Americas event to Canada’s mountains for the first time.
394 business events leads, with a potential economic impact of $230,075,812.
We brought the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence's Incentive Summit Americas event to Canada’s mountains for the first time.
Social Media
people reached through organic social media. We reached a further 4,229,295 through 13 influencer partnerships.
43036339
New Website
users during the year, with 61,258 trips created on our Trip Builder.
2182980
Our efforts led to
247 travel media stories
reaching up to 658,000,000 people.
Our efforts led to
247 travel media stories
reaching up to 658,000,000 people.
Revenue Per Available Room
– compared to $224 RevPAR in 2022. Occupancy was 67.4%, compared to 61.9% in 2022.
236
$
Revenue Per Available Room
– compared to $224 RevPAR in 2022. Occupancy was 67.4%, compared to 61.9% in 2022.
236
$
Helped Visitors
times, promoting members’ offerings and earning a 4.5 Google rating across the Banff and Lake Louise Visitor Centres.
87070
We brought back Skijoring with great success, and the re-imagined Santa Claus Celebration of Lights.
Our compelling calendar of events drove overnight visitation throughout the winter and shoulder seasons.
We launched the 10-Year Vision for Tourism: Lead Tourism for Good
– developed by local community members, in partnership with the Town of Banff, supported by Parks Canada and Improvement District 9. The Vision won a Skift IDEA Award.
We launched the 10-Year Vision for Tourism: Lead Tourism for Good
– developed by local community members, in partnership with the Town of Banff, supported by Parks Canada and Improvement District 9. The Vision won a Skift IDEA Award.
From the Vision, we developed our shared Destination Values:
– and we refined our brand promise: Moments of Awe.
Nature. Hospitality. Curiosity.
Social Media
people reached through organic social media.
43036259
Expedia Campaigns
generated in hotel revenue through our Expedia Campaigns.
10381653
$
New Website
users attracted with 61,258 trips created on our Trip Builder.
2182980
Earned Media Work
travel media stories, reaching up to 658,000,000 people.
10381653
Helped Visitors
times, promoting members’ offerings and earning a 4.5 Google rating across the Banff and Lake Louise Visitor Centres.
87070
Helped Visitors
times, promoting members’ offerings and earning a 4.5 Google rating across the Banff and Lake Louise Visitor Centres.
87070
We supported the Mînî hrpa Indigenous cultural centre popup, led by Îyârhe Nakoda people.
This partnership with Moving Mountains and the Banff Canmore Foundation allowed visitors to enjoy a unique learning and sharing experience.
Transportation Shift
ridership on Roam Transit, On-It, and shuttles, thanks in part to our Transportation Shift campaign, in partnership with Parks Canada and the Town of Banff.
3015819
Transportation Shift
ridership on Roam Transit, On-It, and shuttles, thanks in part to our Transportation Shift campaign, in partnership with Parks Canada and the Town of Banff.
3015819
The Ambassador Program won a Best of the Bow Community Builder Award for a second year.
5,774 community participants attended the program, each receiving access to $1,400 of experiences.
The Ambassador Program won a Best of the Bow Community Builder Award for a second year.
5,774 community participants attended the program, each receiving access to $1,400 of experiences.
Our Community Impact Program helped business and incentive planners and visitors to give back by donating to local causes.
Our Community Impact Program helped business and incentive planners and visitors to give back by donating to local causes.
Travel Media Stories
Reaching up to 658,000,000 people.
227
We diversified and optimized our funding
from alternative sources, including partnerships, grants, and leveraged funding.
1318749
$
Sustaining Year-Round Demand
Our marketing efforts were geared to sustain year-round demand for our members’ offerings, driving awareness with leisure travellers around the world and business event planners.
Destination Revenue
from around the world, through 49 Joint Marketing Agreements.
58193100
$
We launched the
with the Town of Banff, supported by Parks Canada and Improvement District 9 - and won a Skift IDEA Award.
10-Year Vision for Tourism
Shared Destination Values
– Developed from the vision our shared, and we refined our brand promise: Moments of Awe.
Nature
Hospitality Curiosity
Transport Shifts
Our Transportation Shift partnership with Parks and the Town helped get transit and shuttle ridership to a record 2,700,000.
2699960
won a Best of the Bow Community Builder Award for a second year. 5,774 community participants attended, receiving access to $1,400 of experiences each.
The Ambassador Program
We supported the Mînî Hrpa Indigenous cultural centre popup, where visitors could enjoy a unique learning and sharing experience, led by Stoney Nakoda people.
Mînî Hrpa Indigenous cultural centre popup
Paid Marketing
Our paid marketing, including campaigns for the winter and summer seasons, aimed to attract valued guests who would stay longer, do more, and have the potential to return. In total, our campaigns achieved more than 52.9M impressions, with a stunning average conversion rate of 66%.
Expedia Campaigns
Our Expedia campaigns led to 24,487 room nights booked during the year, with more than $10M hotel revenue attributable to our work with the platform.
Travel Trade
We launched 49 Joint Marketing Agreements to drive international visitation. These generated a potential 81,745 room nights for our members, and $58M in destination revenue, 13% more than in 2022. This growth was delivered in the context of an improved return on investment, as we leveraged new Travel Alberta investments in the US, UK, and Germany, freeing up our resources to lead more marketing in Australia, Mexico, and Europe. The success of our strategy was reflected by increases in Park Pass sales to visitors from the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Mexico.
Business Events
The team worked to drive year-round demand from business events, generating 394 leads during the year. Working to position Banff as a leading incentive travel destination, we hosted the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s Incentive Summit Americas in March, the first time the flagship event has been held in a Canadian Mountain destination.
Earned Media
Throughout the year, our work led to enticing stories in travel media around the world. The team’s efforts led to a total of 247 articles (not counting syndication), with a potential reach of 658M across our priority markets, including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Our strategy was to produce higher quality coverage overall, and with a Media Quality Score of 80%, we beat both our target and last year’s performance.
Consumer Newsletter
Relaunched at the beginning of 2023, our new-look Real Banff newsletter had a great first year. With an average open rate of 50.85% among the regional audience, and 41.10% for the long-haul newsletter, we exceeded our own targets, and the all-industry benchmark of 21.33%.
Paid Marketing
Our paid marketing, including campaigns for the Winter and Summer seasons, aimed to attract valued guests who would stay longer, do more, and have the potential to return. In total, our campaigns achieved more than 52.9M impressions, with a stunning average conversion rate of 66%.
Social Media
Our social media content reached more than 43M people, led by 20.7M on Facebook and 20.5M on Instagram. With an impressive 6.58% engagement rate, we outperformed industry benchmarks, beating our target and the previous year’s result.
We published 2,168 pieces of content across seven social media channels, clocking up 11,161,863 video views across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
The Most Engagements
Our 10 Most Liked Photos prompted the most engagements - 83,195.
The Most Likes
This Moraine Lake post garnered the most likes - 29,767.
Our Most Watched Video
The Hot Chocolate Trail was our most watched video with 1.1M views.
The Most Link Clicks
Sulphur Mountain sparked the most link clicks – 3,191.
13 Partnerships with Influencers
These helped generate excitement and encourage responsible visitation throughout the year. A total of 456 posts across social media channels reached more than 4.2M people. With an equivalent advertising value of $4.5M, we achieved a great return on an investment of less than $80K.
Looking at key measures of destination performance, Revenue per Available Room and Occupancy finished 2023 above their targets and 2022’s results.
Average RevPAR for 2023 was $266. This was 10% above the target of $242.
We focused on growth in off-peak times, and monthly Occupancy data shows the success of this strategy.
Average Occupancy for 2023 was 67.4% against a target of 65.5%.
Advancing the 10-Year Vision for Tourism
We were proud to launch Lead Tourism for Good
– 10-Year Vision for Tourism in Banff and Lake Louise.
The Vision serves as a guidepost as we collectively develop our approach to tourism in the destination towards 2032 and beyond. It addresses environmental sustainability, community wellbeing, and economic prosperity.
Celebrating the Vision at our Annual General Meeting, we took the opportunity to seek our members’ input to help identify and define the destination’s shared values: Nature, Hospitality, and Curiosity. These have informed our values-led approach and refined brand promise: Moments of Awe.
Making the Vision a reality will need effort from all of us – businesses, community, governments, agencies, and more. Banff & Lake Louise Tourism has a key role to play, and during 2023 we took significant steps along its five Trails to Tomorrow: Visitor Experience, Community Wellbeing, Nature, and Climate Action, Indigenous Connections, and Smart Tourism.
Visitor Experience
Around 60,000 people attended our owned and sponsored events, which helped boost overnight visitation during need periods.
We successfully brought back Skijoring, and the re-imagined Santa Claus Celebration of Lights. In Search of Christmas Spirit welcomed a record 15,280 guests, 23% more than the year before.
The Art in Nature Trail garnered positive feedback, and helped disperse visitors from downtown during a busy summer. We sponsored the Banff Craft Beer Festival, where 69% of attendees stayed overnight in paid accommodation in Banff, with 400 room nights sold directly as part of festival ticket packages.
Our Visitor Services team conducted 87,102 engagements during the year, assisting visitors and referring them to our members’ offerings. Despite staffing challenges, we ended the year having met our target of a 4.5 Google rating across the Banff and Lake Louise Visitor Centres.
The destination’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) finished the year at 70, well below its target of 78. While 70 is still a strong result compared to other destinations, we have never had an annual NPS this low. July, August, and December were the worst-performing months, with detractors citing traffic, parking, and value for money as their areas of concern. The score may also have been affected by an increase in sample size. We had a total of 9610 responses in 2023, more than double any previous year.
Community Wellbeing
In business and incentive travel, we continued our groundbreaking Community Impact Program. The program puts a prepaid card in the hands of incentive travel guests, which can be used to purchase goods and services anywhere in the destination, while at the same time benefitting a variety of causes through our partner, the Banff Canmore Foundation.
We also changed our gifting policy to benefit the foundation. Through these initiatives, the programs donated $5,500 to local causes over the course of the year.
The Ambassador Program supported 5774 participants in 2023, well ahead of our target of 4800, and representing a 23.5% increase on 2019. Participant satisfaction remains very high in a year when the program was once again voted Best Community Builder in the Rocky Mountain Outlook’s Best of the Bow Awards.
We integrated the Destinations International Economic Impact Calculator into our work. The calculator assigns economic value to all leads and in-destination hosting activities. It is utilized by over 300 destination organizations worldwide and is the global standard for measuring the community impact of meetings and events.
During Tourism Week, we partnered with the Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta, Indigenous Tourism Alberta, and Tourism Canmore Kananaskis to highlight the tourism industry’s contribution to community wellbeing and environmental sustainability.
Nature Positive & Climate Action
Banff and Lake Louise achieved a 43% rating in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI), placing 9th out of 20 Canadian destinations participating with Destination Canada Business Events.
Once again, we partnered with Parks Canada and the Town of Banff on the Transportation Shift campaign, promoting Roam transit and Parks Canada’s summer shuttles. Online, on the phone, and in-person, our team helped thousands of visitors to navigate the closure of Moraine Lake Road to personal vehicles. The result was a record year for transit use, with more than 3M using buses and shuttles.
We conducted an Environmental Sustainability Evaluation of the organization, measuring a year’s worth of fuel, electricity, water, and paper use, as well as travel, commuting, shipping, and waste. The data provides our baseline greenhouse gas emissions, helps identify our greatest opportunities to improve sustainability, and allows us to set meaningful targets.
Indigenous Connections
We partnered with the Banff Canmore Foundation to support and fund Indigenous tourism development. This included the incubation of Mînî hrpa, an Indigenous Cultural Centre which creates opportunities for visitors and residents to experience Indigenous culture in authentic, community-led ways.
The events provided a meaningful opportunity to showcase and celebrate Îyârhe Nakoda song and dance, and to advance and strengthen Indigenous relationships in Banff National Park.
In line with our strategy to enable members with insights and information, we partnered with Pursuit to host Indigenous Tourism Alberta’s Cultural Awareness workshop for more than 100 participants. The full day session focused on broadening understanding of Indigenous peoples, land, and Indigenous tourism. We funded a Land Acknowledgement workshop, provided to members by Rise Consulting.
Working with Stephanie Eagletail of Tsuut’ina Nation, we supported the development of an Indigenous fashion show presented in-destination during Incentive Summit Americas. The show embraced Indigenous components and involved our members and suppliers. Destination Canada was so impressed by the show that they reproduced it on ‘Canada Night’ at the IMEX trade show.
Smart Tourism
We successfully pursued our strategy to advance the destination’s digital footprint. Our redesigned website attracted more than 2.1M users during the year.
Through our Trip Builder, we encouraged people to book and plan ahead to make the most of their visit. It engaged consumers with real intention to visit, helping them to envision their dream vacations. Users created more than 61,000 itineraries composed of experiences, accommodation, and services offered by our members.
We better integrated business intelligence data through the DOMO platform and built a greater ability to articulate the value our events and business events add through Destinations International’s Event Impact Calculator. We implemented a new Digital Asset Management system, Bynder, which provides easy access to our incredible library of content for our team, members, and partners.
Improving Organizational Effectiveness
We want to make this a great place to work, where we provide the best possible value for our members and community.
We diversified and optimized our sources of funding, successfully sourcing $1,318,779 through partnerships, grants and leveraged funding. We controlled costs effectively during the year. Administration costs were 11.9% of expenditures, well within our target of 15%.
We made Banff & Lake Louise Tourism an even better place to work. To cultivate belonging, connection, and purpose amongst our team, we worked with Canadian Equality Consulting to develop our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy.
We also initiated a Registered Retirement Savings Plan for our employees, helping to attract and retain the best possible team to serve our members.
Statement of Operations
Revenues | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
Financial Contributions | $12,473,535 | $10,440,737 |
Other Revenue | 2,516,845 | 1,993,865 |
Total Revenues | 14,990,380 | 12,434,602 |
Expenditures | ||
Marketing | 8,839,638 | 6,611,770 |
Visitor Experience | 4,311,635 | 3,399,043 |
Finance and Administration | 1,770,880 | 1,937,351 |
Total Expenditures | 14,922,153 | 11,948,164 |
Excess of Revenues over | 68,227 | 486,438 |
Other Items | 663,262 | 864,907 |
Excess of Revenues | $731,489 | $1,351,345 |
DRAFT
Note
This statement is abbreviated. For the complete audited statement please contact our Manager, Governance and Corporate Operations at asmithhay@banfflakelouise.com
Accountability
We are committed to transparency. Disclosing how funds collected from our members are spent instills confidence that we have the best practices in place. To ensure accountability, an Audit and Finance Committee, consisting of three Board members reviews and approves financial reporting and retains an external auditor. Our financial statements are audited annually.
Corporate Scorecard
Measure | 2023 Goal | 2023 Actual | |
Destination Marketing | RevPAR | $242 | $266 |
Average Occupancy Rate | 65.5% | 67.4% | |
Trip Duration | 2 days | 2.1 days | |
Destination Development | Net Promoter Score | 78% | 70% |
Media Quality Score | 78% | 80% | |
Organizational Excellence | Admin Costs as a % of | <15% | 11.9% |
Note
As noted in Visitor Experience, the fall in Net Promoter Score (NPS) was driven by concerns over traffic, parking, and value for money. The score may also have been affected by a larger sample size.
Thank You!
A heartfelt thanks to our members, partners, and community for your continued support. We are grateful for everything you have done to help us move along the trails to tomorrow, towards the sustainable future envisioned in Lead Tourism for Good.
Banff & Lake Louise Tourism - March, 2024.
Photos: Banff & Lake Louise Tourism | Robert Massey | Katie Goldie | Bryan White / Bow Media | Rimrock Resort Hotel and Voyage Creative | ROAM Creative | Billie Jean Duff and Skijor Canada | Rocky Mountain Outlook / Jungmin Ham | Mountain Travel Symposium | Today - NBC Universal