Edmonton Branding and Tourism strategy

[constance_chlore]

Even though it's not directly tourism-related, I've been using this thread as a dumping ground for all the impressions I've received from non-Edmontonians—mostly either friends/family visiting me or foreign students. Yesterday I was chatting with a visiting student of mine from China. She said that at first she hated Edmonton because it was so brutally cold. (She arrived in mid/late November, just before the long spell of -30 to -15 temperatures in December.) But she said that now she's really come to love it. I asked her why and she mentioned two things: incredible food and sunny blue skies.

In the last two and a half months, she's been to Vancouver, Victoria, Banff, and Calgary. By the end of her visit, she'll probably have seen more of Canada than some lifelong Canadians.

 

[Kosy123]

Even though it's not directly tourism-related, I've been using this thread as a dumping ground for all the impressions I've received from non-Edmontonians—mostly either friends/family visiting me or foreign students. Yesterday I was chatting with a visiting student of mine from China. She said that at first she hated Edmonton because it was so brutally cold. (She arrived in mid/late November, just before the long spell of -30 to -15 temperatures in December.) But she said that now she's really come to love it. I asked her why and she mentioned two things: incredible food and sunny blue skies.

In the last two and a half months, she's been to Vancouver, Victoria, Banff, and Calgary. By the end of her visit, she'll probably have seen more of Canada than some lifelong Canadians.

And then ask a local and they might think this city is a Siberian gulag lol. It's always refreshing to hear out of city visitors/new arrivals what they think.

We really gotta market our food scene better.

 

[ADob]

Our food scene is fabulous! I remember moving back here from Chicago (a phenomenal food city) and being impressed with what YEG had. And it's only gotten better since then. It continues to baffle me that people go to chains when we have SO much amazing indie food places here.

So yeah, marketing seems to be the issue.

 

[constance_chlore]

And then ask a local and they might think this city is a Siberian gulag lol. It's always refreshing to hear out of city visitors/new arrivals what they think.

We really gotta market our food scene better.

Yeah, you would never really know from the scant coverage of food in Edmonton that we have (for example) some of the best East African food on this continent, right up there with Minneapolis-St. Paul and DC. But we do!

Our food scene is fabulous! I remember moving back here from Chicago (a phenomenal food city) and being impressed with what YEG had. And it's only gotten better since then. It continues to baffle me that people go to chains when we have SO much amazing indie food places here.

So yeah, marketing seems to be the issue.

I just wish we had as many taquerías as Chicago!

 

[MacLac]

Wrong! lol Wish we had as many Italian Roast Beef and Chicago style Deep dish pizza restaurants and/or Chicago "stuffed" pizza akin to Piquod's - which I am dying to visit one day...

 

[Gronk!]

I just wish we had as many taquerías as Chicago!

To be fair, Chicago has a large Latino population.

 

[ADob]

Yeah, you would never really know from the scant coverage of food in Edmonton that we have (for example) some of the best East African food on this continent, right up there with Minneapolis-St. Paul and DC.

East African recommendations please!

 

[constance_chlore]

East African recommendations please!

Oh boy, I'm not the most qualified to do this. I've been to a few Ethiopian restaurants and they've all been excellent. (Habesha Cravings and Abinet are the two names that come to mind...) But there are dozens, so it'll be a while before I try them all!

I haven't tried as many Somali restaurants since I'm vegetarian, but I've been meaning to go around breakfast time to try some of their ful.

 

[ADob]

I still miss Langano Skies, it was the food and the people. Recently my husband has started making Ethiopian at home and it's been excellent (particularly when I made some nitr kibeh for him to use) so we haven't been out much. Definitely want to try Habesha. Have heard good things.