Two Jasper organizations have been named finalists in the running to nab one of Alberta’s most prestigious tourism awards.
The Alberta Tourism Awards, or ALTOs, are given out each year at the Travel Alberta Industry Conference in Banff. According to Richard Starke, who hosted the awards last year, the ALTOs “celebrate excellence in Alberta’s tourism industry and demonstrate commitment to growing our province’s tourism industry.”
This year, the Jasper Pride Festival Society made the final cut in the category of Marketing Excellence (with a budget of $10,000-$50,000), for its campaign promoting the Jasper Pride Festival, in partnership with Tourism Jasper.
Alpine Village Cabin Resort also made the top three in two categories: Alberta Pride, as well as Service Excellence.
Jörg Michel, of the pride society, said all of the society volunteers are thrilled at the recognition—especially since the organization only formed a little more than a year ago.
“We’ve put so many volunteer hours into this project, and it’s nice that it be recognized,” he said.
The society’s intended to build a stronger Pride community in Jasper, as well as to bring more people to town during a time when Jasper’s businesses can use the boost, and according to Michel, it wouldn’t be nearly as successful without the support of the community.
Rena Allin, who along with her husband Chris, owns and operates Alpine Village, echoed Michel’s sentiment, adding she is very proud to be nominated in two categories.
“Jasper is very much a tourist town, so the more recognition the better—not necessarily for us, but for all of Jasper. We all work hard and it’s just good for Jasper to have a business from Jasper recognized,” she said.
The winners of the awards will be announced at the ALTO Awards Gala on Oct. 20 at the Fairmont Banff Springs in conjunction with the Travel Alberta Industry Conference. The awards are determined by an independent evaluation team of industry volunteer judges.
Stay tuned to next week’s Fitzhugh to find out how the Jasper Pride Festival Society and Alpine Village fared in the competition.
Trevor Nichols
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