Tourism Red Deer has announced a new platform to celebrate the successes, innovation and leadership in the hospitality and tourism industry of Red Deer. The redesigned Red Hat Awards will still acknowledge great customer service, but will introduce other important elements such as outstanding partnerships, packaging, product enhancement and promotion that have enhanced the ‘Red Deer Experience’ for visitors.
“This is good for businesses from a lot of angles,” said Liz Taylor, executive director of Tourism Red Deer. “It engages the staff and gives them a goal to work towards, it encourages them to keep striving and it’s great to showcase the things businesses are already doing. The awards are just the icing on the cake.
“It’s also very beneficial for businesses to get acknowledgment from the public.”
Tourism organizations, businesses or individuals are encouraged to put forward their own nomination for these awards to recognize their marketing and customer service efforts and achievements. Consumers will still be encouraged to participate by acknowledging and nominating a business or individual that has delivered an outstanding experience during their stay in Red Deer. Nomination forms will be available and can be submitted both online and off line.
Applications will be accepted from all tourism partners operating in Red Deer and Red Deer County. The project or initiative must have been implemented between November 2010 and November 2012.
Nominations must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., Nov. 30th.
Eight awards will be presented included the Leadership Award in categories including accommodation, event/attraction/festival and restaurant, the Marketing Excellence Award, the Marketing Partnership Award and the Service Excellence Award in categories including accommodation, event/attraction/festival and restaurant.
“This goes beyond just customer service. It’s an opportunity to showcase programming and marketing, among other things. We are hoping the businesses get behind this.”
A Celebration of the Red Deer Experience will be held the third week of May 2013 in conjunction with National Tourism Week. Tickets for the celebration will be available through Tourism Red Deer at $20 per person. An industry after-party celebration will also be held.
Along with the awards celebration, Tourism Red Deer will provide a free interactive workshop designed to train all hospitality and tourism staff about some of the best things to know about Red Deer. Participants will discover Red Deer’s interesting history, be able to identify local landmarks and become aware of attractions and services available to visitors – the Red Deer Experience.
Participants will earn a ‘Red Hat Experience Expert’ pin and certificate that acknowledges their unique local knowledge. Red Deer attractions will provide facility passes so participants can discover first-hand the many experiences, facilities and attractions available to visitors. Participants will track their attractions visits to earn a ‘Red Deer Experience Superstar’ certificate and become eligible for the ‘Experience Expert’ grand prize which will include a weekend luxury package of hotel, spa and dinner activities.
Forms for the public nominations are available at www.TourismRedDeer.com. Full details and nomination forms for industry participation are available at TourismRedDeer.com/Industry.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
