Tourism Jasper has some new hardware to show off this week, after winning two Alto awards Oct. 28.
The Alberta Tourism Awards were handed out as part of the 13th annual Travel Alberta Industry Conference in Banff and, according to Tourism Jasper CEO Mary Darling, being a recipient is a pretty big deal.
鈥淭his is really the Emmy Awards of tourism in Alberta,鈥� she said.
Out of the four awards it was nominated for, Tourism Jasper won for both 鈥渕arketing excellence up to $10,000鈥� for its #myjasper campaign, and 鈥渕arketing excellence from $10,000 to $50,000鈥� for the Dark Sky Correspondent contest.
Darling said everyone at Tourism Jasper was honoured by the recognition. However, as proud as they are of their work, the awards are more about celebrating the Jasper community than the marketing agency, she said.
And the community made its presence felt at the ceremony. Darling said 25鈥�30 Jasperites were there, taking over three tables. 鈥淚n true Jasper style,鈥� Darling said, they caused such a ruckus when Tourism Jasper won its awards that the MC dubbed them 鈥淛asper鈥檚 cheering section.鈥�
鈥淭he community pride when we won was amazing,鈥� Darling said. 鈥淓veryone that was there, we were just so proud to be from Jasper.鈥�
Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation Dr. Richard Starke presented the awards. He said they 鈥渃elebrate excellence in Alberta鈥檚 tourism industry and demonstrate our commitment to growing our province鈥檚 tourism industry.鈥�
Darling pointed out that the tourism industry is more important to Alberta鈥檚 economy than many realize, and the Altos provide the perfect opportunity to get that message out.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about winning. These awards are about celebrating this industry in Alberta,鈥� she said.
As evidenced by the fact that the Jasper Dark Sky Preserve was nominated for the 鈥渟ustainable tourism鈥� award鈥攁 category that generally goes to a specific organization鈥擠arling said Tourism Jasper excels at thinking outside the box, and that means great things for the park.
The awards prove that 鈥渢he sky鈥檚 the limit鈥� for Tourism Jasper, she said.
