Schow invites Japan and Korea to Alberta

CARDSTON-SIKSIKA MLA JOSEPH SCHOW

By Cal Braid
Vauxhall Advance
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As the Minister of Tourism and Sport and a southern Alberta MLA, Joseph Schow keeps busy and travels near and far to energize the industries that he oversees for the province. He’s been back in Alberta for six weeks after a promotional trip to East Asia, where he and a team of marketing officers pumped up Alberta as a choice destination for international tourists. Representatives from Jasper, Banff, Kananaskis, Calgary, and Edmonton all joined him in the team effort.

“I went as the minister to really convey the message that Alberta is open for business and a premier destination for travellers from Asia,” he said. “We left on June 7 to go to Korea and Japan, and had a great trade mission out there. We had a chance to visit a lot of travel agents and companies that have an interest in promoting Alberta.”

Schow and his entourage went from Seoul to Hokkaido to Tokyo. The group met with media outlets and organizations that promote tourist destinations worldwide. “(We went) to display the best Alberta has to offer and show them why it’s such an attractive place to visit,” he said. “We have some crowning jewels in Alberta and we love them.”

He praised southwest Alberta’s dedicated tourism development zones that feature camping and accommodation resorts. Two of those are the fairytale-themed Charmed Resorts and Saddle Hill Ranch Cabins, a unique accommodation constructed of converted grain silos where the foothills meet the mountains. “Views that you can’t even put a price tag on,” he said.

As the minister and MLA, he splits his time between the two roles, prioritizing both. “I would say they’re both my main jobs,” he said. “I’m elected by the people of Cardston-Siksika and I’m responsible to them, but as the minister it also adds a level of duty which keeps me very busy and on the road often. Both jobs occupy a lot of time, but I would say that the most important job I have is being a dad and a husband. I have to find a way to manage all of that.”

“I’m heading out to the United Kingdom on July 24 for an international show for hunting and fishing,” he said of his plans for the week. “We like to attract a lot of high-spending hunters and fishers to see the best we have to offer here.”

In his one year-plus on the job as minister, he has worked to fulfil Premier Smith’s mandate to inject more life into the sector. Together, they’re committed to spending money on increased air access and drawing world-class sporting events into Alberta, and the big spending goes out with the expectation of a big payoff for the province.

He targets Korea, Japan, France, the UK and other places that Westjet serves with direct flights and he works to attract travellers who will spend significant time and money in the province. “We want all travellers, of course, but to reach our goal of $25 billion (tourism revenue) by 2035, we absolutely have to make sure that we’re expanding our product offering and we’re getting it out to the rest of the world and they’re coming to visit.”

“So there’s lots of work to do,” he said. But no pressure, the premier only wants his sector to be earning $25 billion yearly 11 years from now.