The National Awards for Tourism Excellence has named Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL) a finalist in the Deloitte and Touche Innovator of the Year Award.
     The award recognizes Canadian tourism organizations and businesses that have had a positive impact on the tourism industry through enhancement of tourism products and services, commitment to visitor satisfaction, and commitment to long-term growth of the tourism industry locally, provincially and nationally.
     The National Awards for Tourism Excellence, presented by the Toronto Star, will be awarded at a gala dinner in Gatineau, Quebec, on Nov. 2, 2010, as part of the Tourism Summit, the annual national tourism policy conference of the Travel Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).
     “We are very proud of this outstanding list of finalists for this year’s awards,” said TIAC President and CEO David Goldstein. “This impressive collection of tourism businesses – and the people who make them thrive – demonstrates the wealth of ingenuity, enthusiasm and perseverance in our sector. There are great tourism success stories all across our country, and we are very pleased to recognize the organizations and individuals who help make Canada a world-class destination.”
     Incorporated in 2006, CBL is a not-for-profit corporation, providing a new and innovative approach to creating an integrated, destination-based tourism industry in Southeast Alberta. The vision is to create the Canadian Badlands as an iconic tourism destination.
     “It is a tribute to the ‘forward thinking’ rural communities in Southeast Alberta that we have been chosen as finalist for the Innovator of the Year Award by the national tourism industry association,” said Doug Jones, CBL President and Chairman of the Board. “Our shareholder municipalities understand that working together makes anything possible. CBL, which is owned by 62 municipalities, has and will continue to provide tourism resources and service excellence to its shareholders, to deliver a superior product to our visitors and build the next iconic destination for the Province of Alberta.”
     The award nomination recognizes the innovative approach of CBL in providing tourism development resources and services in a 90,000 square kilometre area in Southeast Alberta. CBL provides services such as tourism master planning, major attractions development plans, asset assessment, professional development, grant writing assistance, clustering and business consortia assistance that nurtures over 150 tourism operators, and development of local events for small rural communities.
     “The entrepreneurial environment in Alberta has allowed our tourism initiative to grow and make a difference in a very short period of time,” said CBL Chief Executive Officer, Cindy Amos.
     CBL acknowledges its municipal shareholders and Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation that support operations, and funding partners that support CBL’s work through various programs of Western Economic Diversification Canada, Rural Alberta’s Development Fund, and Alberta Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.