Tourism Vancouver Island’s 49th Annual Conference
Oct 01, 2012
(News Release) VICTORIA – Each year Tourism Vancouver Island has the pleasure of recognizing stakeholders who have demonstrated great efforts and achievements in the tourism industry over the past year. The annual Tourism Vancouver Island Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony showcased the best of Vancouver Island tourism representatives and businesses. The awards were presented at the Best Western Premier Prestige Oceanfront Resort in Sooke on September 26th, 2012.
“We developed our awards program as a way to inspire tourism businesses to collaborate and take initiative that would help to grow tourism in the region,” says Dave Petryk, President & CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island. “This year’s winners have truly captured the essence of what we are looking for.”
The Power of Partners Award was presented to Tourism Victoria for building partnerships with other tourism businesses, successfully increasing visitation to the Vancouver Island Region.
The Innovator of the Year Award recognizes a tourism stakeholder that has developed or renewed a tourism product, package, or initiative that captures the attention of visitors and increases the desirability of the Vancouver Island Region as a destination. Trisha Larsen and Doug Hastie of Golf Vancouver Island accepted this award for their ‘Ultimate Baller’ campaign.
The Tourism Employee of the Year Award was presented to Andrew MacMillan of Harbour Air for demonstrating exemplary work performance, thereby enhancing business or customer satisfaction.
The Multi Media Marketing Campaign Award recognizes a business or organization for its innovative use of various forms of social media and traditional marketing mediums. The result is a specific and targeted campaign that was successful in attracting visitors to their business and the Vancouver Island Region. The award was presented to Living Forest Oceanside Campground & RV Park and accepted by Marketing Coordinator Scott Littlejohn.
The Tourism Sustainability Award recognizes a tourism business that has set out to minimize their environmental impact, conserve natural resources, respect local cultures and benefit local communities. Their commitment to environmentally responsible tourism and changing the way they conduct business serves as an example to the industry. This year the new Vancouver Island Visitor Centre in Comox received this honour with Mayor Paul Ives accepting the award.
The Most Valuable Player Award was presented to Teresa Davis, Tourism Manager at Tourism Campbell River and Region. The MVP Award recognizes an individual or a tourism business that has demonstrated a commitment to the growth of tourism through outstanding contributions to Tourism Vancouver Island.