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January 2007 |  |
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VANCOUVER AGAIN NAMED TOP CANADIAN DESTINATION BY US TRAVEL AGENTS Marks the fourth time the city has been voted top spot by influential group |
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For the fourth year in a row, readers of influential US travel trade publication, Travel Weekly, have selected Vancouver as the top Canadian destination at the annual Readers Choice Awards.
At the ceremony held in New York City in December, Travel Weekly gave Vancouver the top spot in the "Best in Destination: Canada" category over Banff, Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto. Those who vote in the awards are accredited travel agents who cast their ballots through an on-line process. Vancouver won top honours for representing the highest standards of service and excellence within the tourism industry in the past 12 months. Vancouver has won the top spot each year that the awards have been held. "To know that our destination is held in such high esteem by US travel agents is a great honour for our destination," said Dayna Miller, director, Sales, Travel Trade and Cruise for Tourism Vancouver, who was in New York to accept the award. "The US is the biggest non-domestic market for our city, and with some of the challenges we face down there, it's good to know that Vancouver is top of mind when travel agents talk to their customers about Canadian destinations." "Vancouver is not just a great destination in its own right, but for many US visitors, the city is a gateway to the rest of the province," said Stan Hagen, BC Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts. "Travel agents have an important role in educating consumers about destination choices, so an honour like this works to increase our profile in one of our key markets moving into 2007." Travel Weekly will feature the award winners, including Vancouver, in the January 15 edition of the publication. The publication is read by over 44,000 agents, suppliers and tour operators in North America. This award is the latest in a list of honours that Vancouver has received this past year, including again being named "Best City in the Americas" at the recent Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards. Tourism Vancouver's focus is on building exceptional customer relationships with meeting planners, travel influencers, travel media and independent tourists. The organization's brand essence is about "exceeding expectations". |
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| ASSOCIATION SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL TO BRING ANNUAL CONVENTION TO VANCOUVER | |||
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"In all my years of working with destinations to select meeting sites, I have never seen a city work together like Vancouver to share what this wonderful site has to offer," - Debbie Anagnostelis, Meeting Director, Pediatric Academic Societies. The US-based Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) have announced their commitment to bring their annual convention to Vancouver in both 2010 and 2014, making them the first association to sign a multi-year deal to bring business to the expanded Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) facilities. "This is a significant bid win for Vancouver," said Sonia Baldissera, Tourism Vancouver's manager of Meeting & Convention Sales for the Midwest USA, who took the lead on bringing the group to the city. "Tourism Vancouver's investment in this market, as well as our financial commitment to expand the VCEC, is clearly paying off for our city." PAS, an alliance of pediatric research organizations, expects that their Vancouver conventions will attract 7,000 delegates in each of the years, resulting in a total of approximately 30,000 hotel room nights for the city. The expanded VCEC facilities will make it possible to host this group, which was previously too large to be held in Vancouver. Tourism Vancouver's Be a Host program also played a role in bringing the group to the city by securing a letter of support from the UBC Department of Pediatrics and BC Children's Hospital. To bring a group such as this to Vancouver requires a close collaboration between Tourism Vancouver and partners such as the VCEC and the city's hotels. "In all my years of working with destinations to select meeting sites, I have never seen a city work together like Vancouver to share what this wonderful site has to offer," said Debbie Anagnostelis, meeting director for PAS. |
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| VANCOUVER'S OLYMPIC PREPARATIONS ON TRACK HEADING INTO 2007 | |||
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Preparations to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver are well underway. The Richmond Oval, home of 12 speed skating events during the Games, commenced building construction in November. The facility will house a 400m track along with seating for 8,000 spectators. Post-Games, the Oval will become a multi-purpose sports, recreation and wellness facility. The Oval, along with an adjoining waterfront plaza and park, will be the centrepiece of a major new City Centre community to be developed on 32 acres along the banks of the Fraser River.
It's also been announced that the freestyle skiing site at Vancouver's Cypress Mountain is now competition-ready, more than three years before the Games are to be held. The mountain, just 30 minutes from downtown, will also serve as the venue for snowboarding events and the proposed new ski cross event. |
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| A NORTHERN FRONTIER | |||
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Frontier Airlines has announced a new service between their Denver hub and Vancouver, making it the first US low cost carrier to serve Vancouver. The daily non-stop service will start on May 5, just in time for the commencement of the Alaska cruise season. Along with increasing access between Denver and Vancouver, the service will also allow connection with the airline's routes serving 22 US cities. www.yvr.ca |
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| SEE YOU THERE! | |||
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Dave Gazley, Vice President, Meeting & Convention Sales will be traveling to Calgary February 1-2 with the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Rachael Nocera, Manager of Chicago market and Bronwyn Slade, Manager for Western USA will be attending the ConferenceDirect Annual Partner Meeting in Chicago February 7-8. Mike Fox, Manager for Sport Tourism, will join other BC communities at the BC Sports Event Marketplace hosted by Tourism BC and Legacies Now. Keynote speaker will be Minister Stan Hagen on February 9th. Kyle Matheson, Manager of the Washington DC market will be in Washington for the ASAE Speaker Series where President Vicente Fox & Marta Sahagún de Fox will be speaking on Preserving Democracy in the Americas on February 12th. Kyle will then join Dave Gazley to attend The Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) - 2007 Mid-Winter CEO Meeting, February 11-14 in Tucson, AZ. Michelle Taylor, Manager for the Canada market will be participating at the Canadian Society of Association Executive's Ottawa-Gatineau Tête-à-Tête Tradeshow on February 14th. Mike Fox will join Michelle to host a social evening for our Ottawa based clients February 12-14. Richard Yore, Director of Sales will be exhibiting with the Canadian Tourism Commission at the 15th AsiaPacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) February 13-24 in Melbourne Australia. Bronwyn Slade will be exhibiting, along with Lynn Menzies from the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, at Meeting Professionals International Northern California Chapter (MPINCC) 19th Annual Trade Show at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 21. Wendy Surkan, Manager, Eastern USA will be exhibiting at 29th annual New York Society of Association Executives (NYSAE) "We Love New York Day" on Thursday, February 22 in New York City. Following last years success in hosting the Joint Commission on Sports Medicine & Science (JCSMS) Mike Fox will catch up with the group in Texas at this year's convention February 22 - 24. Jacqueline Benear and Dave Gazley will be sponsoring a table at the 14th Annual Destination Marketing Foundation Dinner & Dream Auction 2007 in Washington, DC on February 28th. This event kicks off the start to the Destinations Showcase conference on March 1st where Tourism Vancouver will exhibit. |
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| LOOK WHO IS COMING TO VANCOUVER | |||
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