Industry Events

I know I haven't written anything for over two weeks, but the last few months (especially the past few weks have been quite insane...but all good insane!). The Canadian eTourism Strategy Conference, Canada-e-Connect, and the first Canadian eTourism Awards in Vancouver were a success, according to all the calls and emails we have been receiving. We created a Facebook Group for delegates to share pictures and videos, as well as thoughts. Before Canada-e-Connect, we hosted the first ever Canadian eTourism Council Summit, which was simply amazing. Before was TIAC (Canada's Tourism Leadership Summit) in Victoria, where we hosted a half-day eTourism Summit for CACVB members (Canadian Association of Convention Visitor Bureaus). And then right after Canada-e-Connect was the PhoCusWright Conference in Florida. So it has been busy, but I will post again soon...I have had a chance to chat with Stephen Kaufer (Founder of TripAdvisor), and Greg Brockway (Founder of Tripit), as well as the founding team of start-up LeisureLogix, which I will share here shortly. Also, I will write about my impressions of Canada-e-Connect and PhoCusWright. Next week, I will be leaving for Asia, starting with Wired-in-Travel in Singapore.

In the meantime, please join the Canada-e-Connect Facebook Group, view the Flickr Slideshow of photos, and visit some of the great reviews of Canada-e-Connect (I probably forgot a few...):

- Jaime Horwitz
- Daniel Vasquez
- Philip Caines
- William Bakker
- Joe Buhler
- Ian McAnerin
- Marc Tyrell
- Sean Moffit
- Timothy O'Neil-Dunne
- Heather Kirk
- Chris Clarke
- Stephen Joyce

Just a quick word to thank the many volunteers, speakers, partners, sponsors, and the Canadian eTourism Council who made Canada-e-Connect a reality. But especially to my Canada-e-Connect small but dynamite team (Mimi Chan and Trevor Roald). 

Last but not least, I wanted to share the presentation from one of our highly rated keynote speakers (with permission from my friend Jeremy Gutsche, CEO of TrendHunter.com)

| View | Upload your own

The first ever "E-Tourism Climate Change Awards", sponsored by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Microsoft, and hosted by the Canadian e-Tourism Council, has received numerous very strong nominations.  The Awards that is planned to become global competiton is being pilot-tested at the first Canadian e-Tourism Awards on November 8th, 2007 in Vancouver, BC.

The expert panel of the UNWTO has determined the finalists, which have been voted by the Canadian e-Tourism Council to determine the first Canadian e-Tourism Climate Change Award winner.

The criteria is as follows:

• Addressing Climate Change and having sustainable tourism environmentally friendly programs and initiatives
• Promoting these initiatives on the websites, preferably on the homepage, in order for users to become more conscious and aware
• Marketing Canada as a unique tourism destination

Congratulations to the companies below that have made it into the finals.  The winner will be announced at the Canadian e-Tourism Awards Ceremony in the OmniMax Theater at Telus World of Science during the Canada-e-Connect e-Tourism Strategy Conference.

The finalists of the UNWTO e-Tourism Climate Change Award are:

• Rocky Mountaineer – Canadian Train Travel
• Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
• Flight Centre
• Knight Inlet Grizzly Adventure Tours
• Mont Tremblant Resort
• Canadian Mountain Holidays

The Canadian e-Tourism Council went through the numerous entries for the first Canadian e-Tourism Awards, and after closing the consumer voting for the finalists of the Tourism Industry categories (powered by Yahoo! Canada), we have just announced the finalists of the Traveler categories (Best Photo / Best Video / Best Story).

While the Best of Show Award of the Tourism Industry categories is sponsored by Yahoo! Canada - and will receive the "Yahoo Big Ideas Chair Award" - the Best of Show of the Traveler categories will receive the new "Canada Keep Exploring Award".

Our unique Canada Experience filter is what differentiates the Canadian e-Tourism Awards from others in the industry. The filter will rank entries based on their ability to position products, attractions, destinations and/or locations as experiences that distinguish Canada as a premiere, four-season tourism destination.  We’ll evaluate both how entries position Canada and how they leverage the internet or web technologies to market their destination or product. Winning entries will engage users in a dynamic and interactive way that motivates them to commit to travel to Canada NOW!  Have a look at one of the finalists of the Traveler categories (Video):

The winners of both the Tourism Industry categories and the Traveler categories, as well as the first UN World Tourism Organization e-Tourism Climate Change Award will be announced at the Awards Celebration in the OmniMax Theater at Telus World of Science and presented by the current Miss Canada 2008. The celebrations continue at the Yahoo After-Awards Party at Coast Restaurant in trendy Yaletown, Vancouver. The Awards Celebration also features the exclusive pre-screening of the first Canadian Destination IMAX film, Rocky Mountain Express (please see press release), which will be relased in 2009 just before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.  Tickets to the Awards Celebration and the Yahoo After-Awards are included in the Canada-e-Connect Delegate Conference Package, or can be purchased separately based on availability.

In honor of "Blog Action Day", where bloggers are asked to write something about the environment, Alex Rayner (E-Tourism Advisor for the UN World Tourism Organization) and I decided to extend the deadline for the UNWTO E-Tourism Climate Change Award (launched at the Canadian E-Tourism Awards on November 8th in Vancouver) from October 14th to October 21st.

Good luck to all the great nominations!