The Government of Alberta introduced new rules on February 25, 2026, to stop hidden fees for people booking trips in Banff, Alberta. The proposed law requires hotels, resorts, and booking websites to show the total price of a stay, including all mandatory charges, right at the start of the booking process. This change ensures that visitors see the final price before they decide to book a room.
Known as the Traveller Protection and Destination Development Act, the legislation aims to end the practice of adding extra costs at the final payment screen. In Banff, many businesses collect a 2 per cent Tourism Improvement Fee to pay for local information centres and community projects. Under the new rules, this fee must be clearly shown in the initial price rather than being tacked on at the end of a transaction.
The law also changes how these fees are managed to make sure the money stays in the community. Businesses will be required to put 100 per cent of the collected fees back into local tourism marketing and development. This rule prevents companies from keeping the extra money as profit, ensuring it is used to support the local economy as intended.
This move comes after a record-breaking year for the province, where visitors spent 15.2 billion dollars in 2025 and supported over 86,000 jobs. To follow the new law, local hotels and tour operators in Banff will need to update their websites and booking systems to show full prices. According to Banff and Lake Louise Tourism, these changes build on recent local efforts to make fee collection more transparent for the public.
Organizations like the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and other local hospitality groups have used these fees for years to help grow the region. The provincial government says these updates to consumer protection rules will help protect travellers from surprise charges and keep the tourism industry fair for everyone.
