Tourism Lethbridge teams up with Exhibition to attract events

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 12, 2025.

Herald file photo - Tourism Lethbridge says it is partnering with Lethbridge and District Exhibition to attract large-scale conferences that maximize the capacity of the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre and surrounding venues.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Tourism Lethbridge recently announced a partnership with Lethbridge and District Exhibition (LDE) to attract 500-plus attendee conferences that maximize the capacity of the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre and surrounding venues.

Dominika Wojcik, Senior Director of Communications at Tourism Lethbridge, said the partnership is a long-term strategy as events that are being planned right now are for some time in the future.

“A lot of the planners are looking at events in 2026 and beyond,” said Wojcik. “Some of them are even looking at events for 2039, so they’re very long-term strategies, but they are major events. We are in the relationship-building phase with a lot of these meeting planners to showcase what we have to offer.”

She added that the next step is to have site tours for those interested in bringing their events to Lethbridge so they can visualize what their event would look like at the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre.

The first quarter of 2025 has been a pivotal period for business events in Lethbridge, as Tourism Lethbridge and LDE, have made significant strides in securing major events for the city.

“For the first time, because of our Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre, we are able to attract those 500 plus events that we weren’t quite able to reach out to with our other venue spaces,” said Wojcik.

She said one of the events that will be coming this year to Lethbridge is the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) conference, which will be taking place in June.

“That one is a four-day event, and we know that the estimated economic impact for that event is close to $500,000,” said Wojcik. “That shows you what one event can do, and it’s really important for us to get more events like this into our city.”

She said that strategy is now in partnership with LDE and added that it extends beyond just securing event space, as it also ensures delegates experience Lethbridge’s local attractions, culinary scene, and cultural offerings.

“A successful event is about more than just the venue, it’s about the entire destination experience,” said Wojcik. “Our goal is to create an environment where conference attendees can engage with Lethbridge beyond their meeting space, from visiting local restaurants to exploring our downtown and various attractions.”

With a destination-first approach, Tourism Lethbridge and LDE have actively engaged with industry leaders and event planners to position Lethbridge as a premier destination for business events.

As part of these efforts, representatives attended Go West in Edmonton, a leading industry event where they had meetings with twelve event planners exploring Lethbridge for future conferences and conventions. In addition to these meetings, they hosted a vendor booth to further expand industry connections and showcase our city’s event hosting capabilities.

Building on this momentum, Tourism Lethbridge and LDE participated in Ottawa Meet Week, the largest annual gathering of meeting and event professionals in Canada.

“It’s great to have us to be able to go to these events like Go West, like Ottawa Meet Week, which are kind of the premier business events where we get to meet one-on-one with these meeting planners and show them what Lethbridge has to offer,” said Wojcik.

Throughout the event, the team hosted one-on-one meetings with fifteen event planners and established several key contacts at various industry events. These relationships will be actively pursued in the coming months through site visits, familiarization (FAM) tours, and the RFP process. These efforts mark a major step forward in attracting high-impact business events to the city.

In addition to attending key industry events, Tourism Lethbridge’s Business Events Advisory Committee recently hosted a Prospecting Workshop led by Anna Look of Look Ahead Consulting. The workshop provided critical insights into refining the city’s sales approach, strengthening relationships with event planners, and targeting the right business opportunities.

“As we continue into 2025, Tourism Lethbridge remains committed to securing high-impact business events that will drive economic growth, fill hotel rooms, and showcase Lethbridge as a dynamic meetings and events destination,” said Wojcik.