Strategic plan to help guide Tourism Lethbridge

By Lethbridge Herald on July 26, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The Tourism Lethbridge board of directors has officially begun the development of a new strategic plan that will guide the organization into its next chapter. 

Recently appointed board chair Greg Robinson said the current plan was developed for the period between 2021-25, and while its core pillars remain relevant, the board is now prioritizing a shift that reflects the evolving needs of the tourism industry, stakeholders, and the City of Lethbridge.

“So many things have changed in the marketplace in 2021 especially for tourism,” he says.”We were dealing with COVID, and the uncertainty of what people’s travel habits would be like. And in the last couple of years with cost of living increasing, there has been a lot of changes in terms of people’s habits.” 

As a result, the board wanted to make sure the new strategic plan is relevant to today’s traveler. 

Robinson says the board recently discussed the new strategic plan at its most recent meeting and began to talk about alignment. 

Since the City of Lethbridge and Travel Alberta both fund Tourism Lethbridge, the board wanted to make sure their strategic plan was in alignment with their funding partners. 

“Travel Alberta provide us with quite a bit of data on what travel looks like for long distance travel, the Canadian Dollar as well, as it has an impact on us with US travellers into Alberta,” says Robinson. 

Another key component of the strategic planning process is to find a way to strengthen their relationship with their stakeholders. 

The timing of this strategic work coincides with the City of Lethbridge’s cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of Tourism Lethbridge, an organizational review focused on evaluating how the City administers its fee-for-service agreements with external organizations. 

Recent stakeholder and community engagement efforts have also played a central role in shaping the direction of the new strategic plan. The DNEXT survey, completed by industry partners and stakeholders, and the Resident Sentiment survey, focused on local community perspectives, were primary engagement tools used to inform this process. 

Robinson says Tourism Lethbridge has four foundational pillars that have guided its work to date, which include organizational sustainability driving economic growth, stakeholder and partner engagement, brand and destination development. But now a fifth pillar is being added: advocacy and influence. 

This new focus will see Tourism Lethbridge deepen its role as a steward of the city’s tourism brand while actively advocating for tourism-supportive policies and sustained public investment.  

Tourism Lethbridge will also advocate to remain a community-led organization, a model that ensures local voices, regional perspectives, and industry stakeholders continue to shape the future of tourism in Lethbridge. 

The 2025 Tourism Lethbridge board of directors now includes: Greg Robinson (Chair), Bridget Mearns (Chair Elect), Michelle Day (Past Chair), Sarah Amies, Richard Westlund, Jennifer Norsworthy (City of Lethbridge Representative), Nimisha Manji, Lane Anderson, Gayle Hiscocks, Katie Rabbit Young Pine, Todd Caughlin, Marie Galeana and Mina Church.

Tourism Lethbridge anticipates the new strategic plan will be finalized and ready for implementation in 2026, providing a refreshed vision and direction to guide the organization and support long-term tourism growth in alignment with community goals.

Since Lethbridge is often the first stop for travelers coming in from the United States, Robinson says there has been an increase in visitors to the information centre, and an increase in interest about what people can do around the area. 

“Lethbridge is a hub for so many great sites, with UNESCO sites all around southern Alberta, but there are so many amazing things to see and do right here in the city every weekend.”

He says he hopes that residents and visitors take the time to explore what Lethbridge has to offer, not only in the summer but all year round. 

“We have a new app to assist people in exploring what’s in Lethbridge called the explore Lethbridge app and the link is on our website, and people can see what is going on in the city in any given weekend and have a little bit of fun with it. We are giving away some points and some prizes in conjunction with this app.”