Alberta’s Traveller Protection and Destination Development Act came into force on July 14, 2026. It requires every accommodation provider and tourism experience operator in Alberta to disclose all mandatory fees at the time of booking, and it creates a new governance framework for destination marketing fees (DMFs). A transition period runs to December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027, the Act and its regulations apply in full. We consulted James Koizumi to get a better understanding of the Act and how you will be impacted.
Key dates:
February 25, 2026 — legislation announced as Bill 16
March 26, 2026 — Royal Assent
July 14, 2026 — Act and regulations come into force; transition period begins
December 31, 2026 — transition period ends
January 1, 2027 — full application; only designated entities may receive destination marketing fees
What is the Traveller Protection and Destination Development Act?
It is Alberta legislation with two distinct parts that are frequently confused. The first amends Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act to ban surprise fees at checkout. The second creates a designation and trust framework governing how destination marketing fees are collected, held and spent.
The first part applies to essentially every accommodation provider and tourism experience seller in Alberta. The second applies only to businesses that charge a destination marketing fee and disclosure obligations.
What are the new fee disclosure rules?
Accommodation providers must disclose the full price of overnight accommodation at the time of booking, including all mandatory fees and charges. The same requirement applies to tourism experiences.
If a customer asks, the provider must also explain the purpose of each mandatory fee and how the money will be used.
In practice, this is a systems problem, not a policy problem. The obligation lives in booking engines, rate displays and online travel agency integrations, which means compliance depends on your technology and channel partners.
What changed for destination marketing fees?
Destination marketing fees remain voluntary and industry-led. Businesses still choose whether to charge them, and designated organizations still set rates locally. What changed is everything around the money.
- A DMF may only be charged in a geographic area where a designated destination marketing organization (DMO) exists.
- 100% of the fee must be remitted to the region’s designated trustee, who holds it in trust.
- Where a fee is collected through an online marketplace, the platform operator is responsible for remitting it.
- Fees may only fund destination marketing, destination development, visitor experience enhancement, and directly related administration.
- Fees cannot be transferred to municipalities, except as payment for goods or services tied to permitted purposes.
- Designated DMOs and accommodation associations must file annual reports and annual business plans with the minister.
Enforcement tools include inspections, investigations, injunctions, administrative penalties and offences. Offences include charging a DMF where no DMO is designated, retaining any portion of a fee, failing to remit, using fees for unpermitted purposes, and knowingly providing false information.
Who can be designated?
Only one DMO, one accommodation association and one trustee may be designated per geographic area.
- DMOs must be incorporated as a society under the Societies Act or registered under Part 9 of the Companies Act.
- Trustees must be a chartered professional accountant in good standing with CPA Alberta, a professional corporation registered under the Chartered Professional Accountants Act, or a registered trust corporation under the Loan and Trust Corporations Act.
- Municipalities are not eligible for designation. Where a municipal entity has effectively run destination marketing, the governance structure must be rebuilt.
Where applications overlap the same area, the minister may designate one applicant or require applicants to revise their proposed boundaries. In contested regions, that makes designation a live commercial contest, and timing matters.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
From January 1, 2027, a destination marketing fee cannot be charged in an area without a designated DMO. A region that does not organize in time simply loses the revenue stream.
Because designation requires ministerial review, applying in December is not viable. The province has encouraged early application specifically to allow review time before the transition period closes.
Frequently asked questions
Does this apply if I don’t charge a destination marketing fee? Yes. The fee disclosure requirements under the Consumer Protection Act amendments apply to all mandatory fees, regardless of whether you charge a DMF.
Are destination marketing fees now mandatory? No. They remain voluntary for businesses, and rates are still set locally by designated organizations.
Is a DMF the same as Alberta’s tourism levy? No. They are separate charges. The tourism levy is a provincial tax; a DMF is a voluntary industry fee.
Do online booking platforms have obligations? Yes. Where a DMF is collected through an online marketplace, the operator remains responsible for remitting it.
Alberta businesses, we are here as a resource. Connect with us today.