Edmonton Branding and Tourism strategy

[constance_chlore]

Another comment that's not really about tourism, but I have nowhere else to put it: I was recently chatting with three of our Central and Northern European master's students who are enrolled in a professional dual-degree program comprising one year at a European institution and one year at a Canadian one. This was at a fancy dinner that was meant in large part to connect students with people in industry who could hire them in Alberta. I made an offhand remark to the effect of, "but I figure you all would rather go back to your home countries, so I suppose it doesn't matter as much to you." All three looked puzzled, and they explained that they'd all actually been considering staying on in Edmonton afterwards. I was a little stunned!

I think sometimes we need to see ourselves through the eyes of newcomers or visitors (and I say this as a relative newcomer myself) in order to shake our built-up negativity.

 

[The_Cat]

I've talked with many newcomers to Edmonton, and they say they like it here.

 

[constance_chlore]

I've talked with many newcomers to Edmonton, and they say they like it here.

Yes, same—but what surprised me here is that these students were coming from wealthy European countries towards which some Canadians feel a bit of an inferiority complex.

 

[Glenco]

Was haben Sie gesagt!

Edmonon

 

[Kosy123]

People who've lived their entire lives here sometimes don't realize how attractive this city is. It's a city of high incomes, a good chance of social mobility and a cultural environment that you can't find in a lot of other places in the world. Ask someone from the UK if they'd want our income levels and they'd do it in a heartbeat.

Like we have a ton of problems regarding sprawl, urbanism, public transport, walkability and connections with the outside world. But the great thing about Edmonton is that we're actively addressing it, in small and big ways. This isn't the Edmonton I moved to as a child decades ago.

I'm sick of the whining from some people tbh.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

I think a lot of the time it is individuals that have not traveled much or at all that will complain the most about our city. If I have any complaints it's only because there are things that I see in other places that I would love to see here that would further enhance our city as a top-notch city. I for one could be considered a cheerleader for Edmondson I just always want to see the best.

 

[archited]

One experience that you can feel when you land in Edmonton is opportunity aligned with vibrancy... and that River Valley!!! It stokes the pioneer spirit that is dormant in most of us.

 

[ChazYEG]

I think sometimes we need to see ourselves through the eyes of newcomers or visitors (and I say this as a relative newcomer myself) in order to shake our built-up negativity.

Just short of two weeks in Edmonton were enough to convince my girlfriend, who'd never been to the city, that this is the place for us to settle when we manage to find out way there.

My city-hating boss, who grew up in the lower mainland and now lives in the Okanagan, talks about Edmonton as the only big city in Canada he wouldn't mind living in.

The cousin I have in San Diego visited last summer and was so positively surprised, full of compliments, especially about the River Valley, how much green we have, how it offers everything you'd expect from a big city while still having a slower and more enjoyable pace of life. Also had good things to say about our transit, especially when I explained to him how the VLW will connect many things.

Edmonton is a far more desirable place than most Edmontonian realize. I don't know if it is because very few people there travel a lot, or the "grass is always greener" mentality.

 

[yeggator]

Edmonton is a far more desirable place than most Edmontonian realize. I don't know if it is because very few people there travel a lot, or the "grass is always greener" mentality.

I’ve met quite a few people from small towns in Southern Alberta, and it’s crazy how many of them say they’ve never been to Edmonton aside from a couple of times when they were kids to go visit the mall. Though one friend says he really wants to see the ice castles, so I guess he’ll be coming up this winter.

 

[David A]

I’ve met quite a few people from small towns in Southern Alberta, and it’s crazy how many of them say they’ve never been to Edmonton aside from a couple of times when they were kids to go visit the mall. Though one friend says he really wants to see the ice castles, so I guess he’ll be coming up this winter.

Well, Alberta is a big province geographically especially from north to south, so there are probably also a lot of people in northern Alberta that rarely go to that other big city to the south of us.

For whatever reasons, Edmontonians are more self critical and are less boosters than many other places, which can be good if it leads to improvement. A lot of people here actually do travel to other places and do see where the grass is greener, but of course visitors often tend to avoid or not know about the less desirable parts of the places they visit. How many tourists linger in the east end of Vancouver?

 

[ADob]

Just short of two weeks in Edmonton were enough to convince my girlfriend, who'd never been to the city, that this is the place for us to settle when we manage to find out way there.

My city-hating boss, who grew up in the lower mainland and now lives in the Okanagan, talks about Edmonton as the only big city in Canada he wouldn't mind living in.

The cousin I have in San Diego visited last summer and was so positively surprised, full of compliments, especially about the River Valley, how much green we have, how it offers everything you'd expect from a big city while still having a slower and more enjoyable pace of life. Also had good things to say about our transit, especially when I explained to him how the VLW will connect many things.

Edmonton is a far more desirable place than most Edmontonian realize. I don't know if it is because very few people there travel a lot, or the "grass is always greener" mentality.

Thanks for that. I used to be such a huge Edmonton enthusiast but living downtown over the last few years has knocked me around quite a bit. We still love our condo and LOOOOVE being two streets away from the river valley, which makes walking and cycling amazing. It is a good place to live (and as someone who had lived away multiple times over the last few decades, a great place to come home to) but that's hard to remember when being constantly confronted by garbage, bendy zombies, and social unrest. It's been a hard job focusing on the positive, which is one reason I'm on here - seeing all the new development does help rebuild some of my old optimism.

 

[JNO1]

^ I feel your pain @ADob , I have been doing the same "dance" for about 50 years...not kidding. I go through periods of complete hopelessness and then swing to periods of great optimism. I have this bi-polar, love/hate relationship with the core and our City in general. Nice place to live and raise a family but it could, and probably SHOULD, be so much better. Now in my retirement years, I have the time to (hopefully) make my own small mark on the City and help make it a better place to live. Hang in there!!

 

[archited]

There are solutions -- they just need to be implemented on all of the levels that are demanded for each nuance.

 

[David A]

^ I feel your pain @ADob , I have been doing the same "dance" for about 50 years...not kidding. I go through periods of complete hopelessness and then swing to periods of great optimism. I have this bi-polar, love/hate relationship with the core and our City in general. Nice place to live and raise a family but it could, and probably SHOULD, be so much better. Now in my retirement years, I have the time to (hopefully) make my own small mark on the City and help make it a better place to live. Hang in there!!

Yes, having seen downtown Edmonton over many decades I would say from around 2008 to 2018 was around the best period for a long time and after that one of the worst.

I feel there is a recovery starting to happen, so perhaps we will even get to some general optimism again eventually, but the swings in recent years have been quite extreme.