Investing in Wellness Tourism: How Collaboration Brought Scandinave Spa to Edmonton, AB

As pioneers in Canada’s Nordic spa industry, Scandinave Spa has been delivering immersive experiences to its guests since opening its first location in 1999 near Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort in Quebec. In the decade that followed, the company successfully opened an additional three Canadian locations, all focused on preserving the essence of the settings in which they were built. This included two additional outdoor spas near ski resorts—one in Blue Mountain, Ontario, and one in Whistler, British Columbia (BC)—and an indoor, urban spa in Old Montreal, Quebec. Now, 15 years since opening its most recent location in Whistler, the company is embarking on a new adventure in Western Canada to build its fifth Scandinave Spa location in Edmonton, AB, overlooking the magnificent North Saskatchewan River Valley. 

This case study will examine why the project is an ideal fit for Alberta and how Scandinave Spa came to choose Edmonton. The ways in which several Alberta partners, including Travel Alberta, Explore Edmonton, and Edmonton Global, worked collaboratively with the municipal and provincial governments to secure Scandinave Spa’s investment and move the project forward will also be showcased. Further, key takeaways and lessons from Scandinave Spa’s team and its Alberta partners will be highlighted, providing guidance and inspiration to other destinations and investors seeking to collaborate to develop new tourism experiences in Canada. 

At the outset, it's essential to highlight Alberta's rising visitor economy, the growing wellness tourism sector, and how Scandinave Spa complements both.

Tourism is Alberta’s top service export and employs 10 per cent of Albertans. In 2024, a year of record growth for Alberta’s visitor economy, spending across the province reached $14.4 billion, growing 12% year-over-year and outpacing other provinces at four times the national average.

The Government of Alberta released Higher Ground: A Tourism Sector Strategy in February 2024. This long-term strategy is built on five key pillars: Leadership and Alignment, Competitive Product, People and Careers, Expansion of Access, and Indigenous Tourism.

“The tourism strategy for the province of Alberta sets out very clearly an expectation and a view that with the right winning conditions and support of the government, and an all-of-team Alberta approach, that this sector could grow to $25 billion by 2035, which is almost double,” says Jon Mamela, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer, Travel Alberta.

Between 2021 and 2025, Travel Alberta—the destination management organization of the Government of Alberta, operating within the Ministry of Tourism and Sport—invested almost $90 million in tourism growth. In 2025, the organization received hundreds of applications for tourism investment, both to enhance existing products and to develop new experiences, including those that will drive winter visitation.

The objective of the tourism strategy’s second pillar, Competitive Product, is to increase capital for world-class, year-round nature-based tourism experiences, which clearly aligns with the offering that Scandinave Spa delivers. Contributing to the global wellness tourism sector, which has grown rapidly since the pandemic and is expected to reach nearly $9 trillion (USD) by 2028, according to the Global Wellness Institute, is another key factor that makes the project a welcome investment.

“The gap in Alberta [for premium wellness experiences] was recognizably evident,” explains Mamela. “The contribution of the Scandinave Spa project and many others is exemplary of us slowly but surely building up the appeal, the product offering, [which] gets people to travel an additional day, [and] add more expenditures in the time they’re here in Alberta and in Edmonton.”

He adds that Scandinave Spa will “strengthen Edmonton’s position as a year-round destination” and “be a big draw incrementally to the meetings and conventions business,” all of which will support the ambitious provincial visitor spending target outlined in the tourism strategy.

“Scandinave Spa has a really good proven track record of drawing both domestic and international travellers that are seeking wellness-focused tourism experiences, which points to more visitation for the region,” adds Melissa Radu, Director, Destination Stewardship for Explore Edmonton, the City of Edmonton’s (City) visitor economy and venue management organization.

She adds that in 2025, Explore Edmonton finalized a tourism product inventory for the region and classified all its tourism businesses and offerings based on typology. Through this process, they identified a lack of wellness products in the Edmonton area, further underscoring the need for Scandinave Spa’s presence.

While it’s clear Scandinave Spa aligns perfectly with the types of experiences Alberta is seeking, we’ll now examine how the company came to choose Alberta, and Edmonton specifically, as the perfect location for its next spa.

With its existing location in Whistler, Scandinave Group—the parent company of Scandinave Spa—saw potential in western Canada, where the market for Nordic spas is in its infancy, particularly compared to Quebec, where the market is quite mature.

Scandinave Group President & CEO, Steve Arsenault, explains that the company decided to shift away from its “resort-based model,” since there wasn’t another option in Canada that offered the business viability they needed. Instead, the company decided to pursue locations closer to major cities, which in its initial exploration out west included Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.

Aside from filling the evident market gap, those involved with the project identified several factors that supported Edmonton’s emergence as a strong candidate, amalgamated as follows:

• It is an international gateway to Alberta and is well known throughout Canada.
• It offers affordable land and real estate; the scale and feasibility of the Edmonton site would be hard to replicate in higher-cost markets.
• It provides access to a low-cost supply chain and a lower cost of doing business.
• It is celebrated for its winter experiences, and residents are knowledgeable about the product offering, thanks to the Nordic spas in other parts of the province.
• It has incredible landscapes, including its iconic River Valley, and offers opportunities for outdoor adventure and wellness.

“The specific site they [Scandinave Group] identified is genuinely unique in the Canadian context,” notes Franziska Middrup, Trade & Investment Program Manager, Edmonton Global. “It’s adjacent to one of Edmonton’s most distinctive assets, the River Valley, but it’s only 20 minutes from downtown Edmonton. This matches Scandinave Spa’s model of providing a serene nature-immersed experience within major Canadian cities.”

In addition to finding the “magnificent” site for its next location, Arsenault highlights the welcoming and supportive nature of Edmonton, which “made a big difference” to the company.

This welcoming, supportive environment was established and continues to be nurtured through the seamless collaboration of numerous regional partners, including Travel Alberta, Explore Edmonton, and Edmonton Global. These organizations worked closely with Scandinave Group throughout its initial journey, making connections in the market, providing data and research, helping secure provincial funding, and supporting the company through the municipal rezoning process.

As the Scandinave Group started considering top locations for its next spa, Arsenault initially reached out to Explore Edmonton’s CEO, Traci Bednard. A member of Bednard's team travelled to Mont-Tremblant to meet with Arsenault, during which they discussed a variety of key site location topics, including potential marketing strategies and connections in Edmonton that project partners could initiate for the Scandinave Group. From Explore Edmonton's perspective, as Radu notes, this was a key moment that drove momentum for the project, as meeting in-person solidified Edmonton’s commitment to supporting it.

From there, Bednard facilitated Arsenault’s introduction to Mamela at Travel Alberta and to the team at Edmonton Global. While Edmonton Global—which promotes the region as a top location for sustainable investment—is not proactively targeting tourism-related leads, Middrup notes that it works closely with destination partners when tourism-driven opportunities, like Scandinave Spa, emerge. She adds that each partner played a crucial role in the investment attraction effort, contributing their specific skills and resources to fill the missing pieces that the Scandinave Group needed to confidently and successfully move forward.

In speaking specifically about Edmonton Global, Middrup explains that this meant “facilitating introductions” to “qualified local service providers,” including construction and delivery partners. Arsenault mentions that a recent invitation by Explore Edmonton to attend the rodeo in Edmonton offered another opportunity to connect with numerous local business leaders.

“They’re very good at making those links, which is very helpful when you’re from outside the province,” he adds. “Having those resources and knowing you have partners who are going to support you putting that network together, that was, and still is, very valuable, [especially] because we’re far from being done building that network.”

Each of the three organizations also provided a wealth of data and research to help Scandinave Group further develop its business case. This included information the company was missing about the visitor economy, as well as general market insights and data about future demand.

Through its Investor Concierge Program, Mamela explains that Travel Alberta “acted as a facilitator, not only providing insights, but context, too.” The team completed a comprehensive labour-market assessment for Scandinave Spa’s specific sector to demonstrate Edmonton’s ability to support the spa’s future staffing needs.

In addition to committing funding to the project, Mamela notes that Travel Alberta was instrumental in identifying opportunities for Scandinave Group through the Department of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Innovation and in collaborating with the Government of Alberta to make the case for its financial commitment to the project.

For its part, Edmonton Global supported Scandinave Group in securing funding through the Investment and Growth Fund (IGF), an invite-only deal-closing incentive offered by the Government of Alberta, as Middrup explains.

“The IGF is designated to be used in late-stage investment decisions, and only when there are barriers to making a final investment decision in Alberta,” says Middrup, adding that the IGF helped secure the investment against other competing jurisdictions vying for Scandinave Group’s project.

As a designated intake partner for the Government of Alberta's program, Edmonton Global worked closely with Scandinave Group throughout the IGF application process, which was ultimately successful.

“The IGF grant we received played a significant role in our decision-making,” says Arsenault. “The Edmonton spa is a significant investment; the biggest one we’ve done in our history. We haven’t built a spa since 2010, so costs are way more important than they were back then, and for us, it’s a more substantial investment.”

Middrup echoes this sentiment, explaining that access to a deal-closing incentive can be decisive for an investor because it helps reduce overall project risk, and strengthen confidence at the final investment stage. However, she notes that financial incentives are only one part of the equation—ease of doing business, speed to market, and support from regional partners can be just as important.

Alongside Scandinave Group’s engineering partner, Stantec Consulting (‘Stantec’), all three organizations supported the company through the municipal rezoning process and public hearing for the identified land in Edmonton’s Bradner Gardens neighbourhood.

Engagement around the Scandinave Spa project, in relation to the rezoning process, started in June 2024, with an open house for the University of Alberta Properties Trust, which originally owned the land in Brander Gardens. Stantec submitted the rezoning application in September 2024, and additional meetings with the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition and the Edmonton and Area Land Trust occurred in October 2024.

The City conducted its public engagement through October 2024, culminating in an open house at the end of that month. The public hearing was held on February 24, 2025, with Stantec acting as the lead on the rezoning application and explaining its technical requirements.

While Travel Alberta was more involved behind the scenes, Edmonton Global provided a letter of support for the project and attended the public hearing to answer questions from an economic impact standpoint. At the same time, Explore Edmonton presented to Council in support of the project, with the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta also speaking in support.

“Explore Edmonton was extremely instrumental in reinforcing the support and the rationale behind the project, which was key,” explains Mamela. “If residents and elected officials, on behalf of those residents, don’t see the benefits [of a project] and have more concerns, things can die on the vine, so to speak.”

“Explore Edmonton did an amazing presentation to show how wellness is an important part of the [city’s] urban development and how the Scandinave Spa project fits into that,” adds Arsenault. 

Radu, who delivered Explore Edmonton’s presentation to Council, says the organization’s support at the hearing was integral to getting the unanimous vote in approval of the project. She adds that the message Explore Edmonton delivered focused not only on how Scandinave Spa would enhance the city as a wellness destination, but also on how it would create jobs, generate tourism, and attract further investment.

Middrup also gives credit to City Council, as approving the rezoning permit was a significant milestone in the Scandinave Spa project, proving that a proposal like this could move efficiently through the approvals process, a clear signal of the region’s investor readiness.

While Scandinave Group’s entire team celebrated this key approval for moving the project forward, Arsenault notes that the company’s Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Vincent Damphousse, was particularly pleased. He explains that Damphousse played for the Edmonton Oilers for about a year early in his career, which shaped his life as a professional hockey player, so opening Scandinave Spa in the city is, in part, a way to give back to the community.

Scandinave Group and its Alberta partners were unanimous that the process in Edmonton went as smoothly as it could have.

“It’s always a matter of the time everything takes and the desire for things to move more quickly…but in this case, no significant challenges arose,” says Mamela.

Arsenault agrees that time-to-market is essential, though he notes that the team in Edmonton demonstrated its ability and agility to deliver results as quickly as possible.

“When each partner remains engaged throughout the process and anticipates the needs of the client, based on their previous experience, problems can get solved early, and we can ensure it’s a smooth experience that creates exactly the kind of environment that gives investors confidence,” notes Middrup. “These partnerships really help land the investment and bring it over the finish line."

While Arsenault knows not everything Scandinave Group proposes will be accepted by the City, he explains that as an investor, their partnership approach makes the process feel unified and beneficial.

“We’re embarking on an exciting long-term journey. It’s not just the rezoning process but the development permit and the construction permit,” points out Arsenault. “It gives you confidence as an investor to have a municipality that wants you there, and that’s going to be supportive.”

Looking forward, the benefits to Alberta’s visitor economy are undeniable. As noted by Travel Alberta, Scandinave Spa’s Edmonton location, set to open in 2028, will be an anchor in Alberta’s fast-growing wellness tourism sector, generating approximately $121 million in total economic impact over construction and the first decade of its operations. The project will also support 330 temporary jobs during construction and 52 full-time jobs once the spa is open.

“Beyond those economic impacts, the [Scandinave Spa] investment also reinforces Edmonton’s reputation as a place where major operators can succeed,” explains Middrup. “The region combines different distinctive assets and has this coordinated system in place that helps move [projects] from interest to execution.”

“As an investor or entrepreneur, going outside of your known region or comfort zone is no easy feat…my advice would be not to be afraid,” says Arsenault, adding that choosing Edmonton proved to be a strategic decision for his team and that the support and welcoming nature the city and its various partners offered is something you don’t find everywhere.

The support and coordinated collaboration that the Scandinave Group experienced during its journey in Edmonton align with the lessons and advice imparted by Mamela, Radu, and Middrup.

For investors, they highlight that:

• Early engagement is key; use the local destination marketing organizations or other connections to understand where challenges or barriers might lie.
• Being clear about requirements and decision criteria can help destination partners better understand your unique project, enabling them to develop a coordinated plan and provide targeted support.
• Having a strong business case—including as much research, data, and economic impact information as possible—is essential for all levels of government and is critical for garnering support.

“In the case of Scandinave Spa, it was more effective for us to point to other spa case studies and the actual economics and success of those particular projects than it was for us to talk about the wellness tourism opportunity, which wasn’t specific enough,” notes Radu, adding that their messaging was more trusted when they could point to the success Scandinave had in its other locations.

For destination management organizations, economic development agencies, and government partners supporting investors, they provide the following reminders:

• Be willing to provide the expertise and insights you have, including data related to the project.
• Ensure clarity on the relationship between all partners, identifying who is responsible for what throughout the process.
• Maintain transparent communication among all partners and celebrate wins together, regardless of which organization led the effort.
• Remember that deal-closing tools and incentives contribute to competitive site selection; however, they are only part of the equation. Establishing an overall business-friendly environment is just as important.

“Seamless collaboration becomes a real competitive advantage,” adds Middrup. “The feedback we got from them [Scandinave Group] reinforced how powerful those first impressions and consistent partner alignment can be in making a difference in the end.”

While the initial phase of the Scandinave Spa project has concluded successfully, all of the Alberta partners remain alongside the company for the remainder of its journey, offering support and guidance where they can.

“We’re very proud of going to Edmonton, and it’s going to bring us towards realizing our vision of being recognized as the best relaxation experience in Canada,” states Arsenault. “It’s our first footprint in Alberta, but hopefully not the last.”