Canada’s winter incentive pulls out all the stops
Ellie Evans reports from Incentive Canada, the annual winter showcase by Destination Canada
I thought December’s cold snap in the UK had prepared me for my trip to the Rockies. But our paltry -4C paled into insignificance in a country that had recently experienced temps of -40C and below.
I was headed for Banff National Park, one of seven parks that make up the Canadian Rocky Mountains. This UNESCO World Heritage Site attracts more than nine million people a year – little wonder, as it’s home to some of the best mountain scenery on the planet.
Luckily by the time I landed in Calgary for Incentive Canada, the annual winter showcase by Destination Canada, the harsh weather had passed. And it meant we got to see the mountains at their best: bathed in sunlight with fresh snow that truly brings out the kid in you.
After spending time there with 30 other buyers and suppliers, it’s no surprise that Canada’s incentive scene is booming – or that it’s in the top three global destinations on delegates’ wishlists. Banff and Lake Louise took my breath away, and there’s so much more to offer event planners than just the (world-renowned) skiing.
Banff: a destination that piles on the appeal
“To inspire our audience to book Canada, you need to come to the destination and have tangible experiences that inspire you,” says Jennifer Attersall, Destination Canada’s acting senior director, business events. “The event used to be bigger but smaller groups mean more authentic relationships can be built, she adds. “We want it to be transformational. We want you to leave here feeling that emotional bond with a destination.”
Dog sledding on the first day was an absolute blast: the noise made by dozens of excited Alaskan huskies at the start was astonishing then, as soon as the sled set off, a whoosh, followed by silence. Just nine dogs pelting hell-for-leather through the Narnia-esque landscape, only stopping occasionally to relieve themselves (fact: it happened more often than I had expected, thanks to their revved-up metabolisms). Wedged between the legs of Bryan Fry, a sales director from Ohio, it’s fair to say authentic relationships were being built!
Kingmik Dog Sled Tours are the only operator licensed to provide dog sled tours in a national park in the country and it’s a great way to travel. Our guide Jake was great company and, as we shot along the track to the Continental Divide, much time was spent discussing the dramas in the pack, like a doggy Dynasty.
Dog sledding
Dog sledding
Dog sledding was developed by northern Indigenous peoples as a way of getting around in winter, and our wider programme respectfully incorporated many elements of Indigenous culture, from the welcome by Hal Eagletail to the traditional smudging ceremony that was part of our fat-biking experience with the awesome Indige-scape Fat Tire Ebike Experience with Heather Black, also known as Buffalo Stone Woman.
We stayed in the Fairmont Banff Springs – a sprawling castle that’s home to some 720 guest rooms (but apparently no longer any ghosts). It’s easy to get lost but luckily there’s always an extremely helpful member of staff around to ask for guidance.
The history of the hotel is fascinating: it was first dreamt up in 1888 by William Cornelius Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, who famously said: "if we can't export the scenery, we'll import the tourists". Along with the other grand chateau-style railway hotels in Canada, he created something incredible that gives a nod to its legacy while never detracting from its surroundings. It’s a perfectly judged blend of luxury with the environmental stewardship inspired by its stunning setting, with touches including Accor’s Net-Zero Carbon Calculator for planners to determine their event’s carbon footprint.
The hotel’s owners have recently made a deal to take over the nearby Rimrock Resort where we spent a memorable evening at its superb five-diamond Eden restaurant – we headed there in a crazy $750k custom cut-and-shut 1930s-inspired open-top van owned by Pursuit, a collection of event experiences that includes Banff Gondola and much more, that had to be seen to be believed.
Canada is marketing itself as a foodie destination and it’s not hard to see why. From Emerald Lake Lodge that serves elk and bison raised on its own 500-acre game ranch to the amazingly fresh fare at the Sky Bistro at the top of the gondola, there’s an emphasis on farm to table that’s supported by a genuine passion for great local ingredients.
Getting away from it all in Lake Louise
After a few days, we moved to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Once a refuge for climbers, it’s now a luxury destination that’s going to open its new thermal wellness centre in 2025 and is undergoing a full facelift at the moment.
Perched right on the shores of the lake, it’s a greenie’s dream: it was the second hotel in Canada to receive the 5 Green Key rating back in 2005, the highest a hotel can achieve, and it’s incorporated “No Net Negative Environmental Impact” practices into all hotel operations for 20 years; last year, renewable energy represented an impressive 52% of the hotel’s supply.
My room on the eighth floor had a window seat that took in the unforgettable views of the frozen lake and the Victoria Glacier beyond; long renowned by the Stoney First Nations people for its health-giving properties, there’s even an on-site treatment plant for glacier water directly from Lake Louise.
Even in the depths of January, there were so many ways to make the most of the truly ‘great’ outdoors: while others headed off snowshoeing or skiing and tubing at the nearby slopes, I walked over the frozen lake to check out the solid waterfall at the end that defined the phrase ‘ice-blue’. The next day I hired gear from the in-house shop to give cross-country skiing a go and spotted two ice climbers heading up the frozen falls.
On the last night, we shared a drink in the ice bar then took a horse-drawn sleigh ride to Brewsters Barn, a proper Western spot that pays homage to the generations of real-life mountain pioneers and cowboys of the Canadian Rockies. The meal - based around a huge hunk of Albertan beef - was a huge hit, as was the line-dancing and singing by the blazing fires under the stars.
An event that put sustainability at its heart
Sustainability was at the heart of the whole programme – this was the second ever carbon-neutral Incentive Canada event, after all, and it was clear from the partner destinations on the trip that it’s embedded in their DNA too.
Far from paying lip service to the notion of sustainability, Destination Canada is walking the walk: they used the TRACE carbon measurement platform to calculate and then mitigate the event’s carbon footprint, including offsetting the emissions from our flights.
Other steps included serving seasonal menus made from local, sustainably sourced ingredients and prioritising plant-based options; prioritising reusable materials and eliminating the use of single-use plastics; and walking to venues with a commute of 20 minutes or less (or sourcing group transportation for longer distances.
From the ice-blue to the green, there’s so much to celebrate in Banff and Lake Louise – for the full destination guide for meetings and incentives there, see the May edition of M&IT.
Ellie Evans at Lake Louise
Ellie Evans at Lake Louise
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