The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association is a key regional partner with Destination BC that recently took top honours for the film Wild Within at the 14th Annual International Tourism Film, Print and Multimedia competition in Germany.
The competition is known as The Golden City Gate, at the ITB Travel Trade Show in Berlin. The province's brand new video, Wild Within, shot in the Great Bear Rainforest took first place in the International Region category.
"The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association is a key regional partner with Destination BC the organization that produced the video as part of its provincial tourism rebranding process," says Geoff Moore CCCTA media relations. He notes the Great Bear Rain Forest is in the CCCTA region.
"We are simply ecstatic that the Wild Within brand anthem video, the culmination of our brand revitalization efforts, was recognize with this honour at the world's largest travel trade show," Destination BC CEO Marsha Walden said in announcing the win this week.
"The response to British Columbia's new tourism brand, and the video itself, has been overwhelmingly positive. This recognition is not just for Destination BC, but for all of our partners and industry members who contributed to the work that got us here today."
In her congratulatory statement Naomi Yamamoto, B.C. minister of state for tourism and small business said the award provides a great opportunity to showcase the diverse and spectacular landscapes that B.C has to offer.
"I hope this video puts us at the top of the 'must-see' list, and that it's seen globally as an open invitation to visit us here in Beautiful BC." Yamamoto said.
ITB Berlin, was held March 4-8 and is the world's leading travel trade show connecting tourism buyers with destinations from around the globe. More than 100,000 visitors involving 10,000 exhibitors from 190 countries were expected to showcase their travel experiences, reflecting how intensively competitive the global travel industry is today, the release stated.
The Wild Within video was the result of months of research and development that lead to a refreshed tourism brand for B.C., injecting deeper meaning and emotional power into the Super, Natural British Columbia tagline that has served the province well over the last 30 years.
Tourism is a critical sector within BC's economy, the release goes on to say.
The industry is showing excellent growth and has huge opportunity ahead. Preliminary figures show that BC's international overnight visitors grew by 5.3 per cent in 2014 and that our accommodations, attractions and restaurants are having a banner year. Tourism employed more than 132,000 people in British Columbia in 2013 and generated an additional 3,800 new jobs from the previous year.
Established on Nov. 2, 2012 under the Business Corporations Act and continuing as a statutory Crown corporation pursuant to the Destination BC Corp. Act, Destination BC Corp. is wholly owned by the Province of British Columbia and commenced operations on April 1, 2013.
Operating as Destination British Columbia (Destination BC), the industry led Crown corporation works collaboratively with tourism stakeholders across the province to co-ordinate tourism marketing at the international, provincial, regional and local levels, and to support regions communities and Aboriginal people in developing or expanding tourism experiences, businesses and jobs.
Destination BC is responsible for executing key components of Gaining the Edge, the provincial government’s tourism strategy. Destination BC’s first three-year corporate and marketing strategy was released on November 4, 2014 articulating Destination BC’s new vision, mission and goals.