Chair's Message

WELCOME TO THE FIRST-EVER CANADIAN E-TOURISM AWARDS

Dear friends & industry colleagues,

THE ONLY WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO INVENT IT…

We’re very excited to have the first and only Canadian e-Tourism Awards be presented in conjunction with the Canada-e-Connect e-Tourism Strategy Conference. The Canadian e-Tourism Awards presents awards for traveller- and for tourism industry categories. In addition to having three industry categories (Website Design, Online Campaign, and Innovation) open to the travel and tourism industry’s three sectors (Destination Marketing Organizations, Large Enterprises, and Small-Medium Enterprises), we will also recognize three awards (stories, photos, videos) submitted by travellers having experienced Canada. These awards were created in recognition of the growth and marketing power of Social Media and Web 2.0, adding a unique spin to the Awards competition as a whole. Entries are eligible from all over the world, but what makes the awards competition unique is that every entry has to market, sell, or portrait Canadian destinations, products, attractions, or experiences. Undergoing evaluation from expert judging panels, all entries will also be reviewed by consumers and receive the Viewer’s Choice Score, which will determine the best of show award in the tourism industry category (sponsored by Yahoo! Canada as the Yahoo! Big Chair Award).

The Awards Celebration will be an evening of lasting memories and stories – bringing together state-of-the-art technology, design, science, and innovation.

The only question left to ask is, can you really afford to miss this opportunity? Enter your nominations by August 31, 2007, and join us on November 8th to celebrate and recognize the best of the best, in partnership with the Canadian Tourism Commission and Yahoo! Canada.

On behalf of the Canadian e-Tourism Council, we are looking forward to seeing you in Vancouver on November 8th 2007, in conjunction with the Canadian e-Tourism Strategy Conference, Canada-e-Connect. Please visit the Canada-e-Connect Blog (www.CANADAeCONNECTblog.com) for updates, interviews, and developments of this exciting event.

Cheers,

Jens Thraenhart
Chair & Founder, Canadian e-Tourism Awards & the Canadian e-Tourism Council