Regional tourism project wins award

The Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies tourism marketing project received a 2011 Scenic Byway Award in the marketing category on August 24 at the National Scenic Byways Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Accepting the award was Anna Holden, the project co-ordinator from White Bird, Idaho.

The Top 10 initiative consists of ten byways and four connecting National Historic Trails in five western states and two provinces. The Top 10 project successfully brought the participating routes together under a unified branding and messaging platform that presented the area as a single destination for travellers. The co-operative marketing approach developed by the partners continues to promote sustainable tourism through use of a memorable logo, useful website, printed map and numerous social media activities.

Chris Dadson, president of Kootenay Rockies Tourism said, “This is a very exciting project for us to be a part of.  One entire byway and portions of two others are located in the Kootenay Rockies region of B.C. We have worked closely with our many partners in the United States and Alberta to develop a tourism marketing initiative that delivers a cohesive message about a very wide range of products and experiences. The primary goal of our involvement in the Top 10 is to encourage US travellers to view our two-nation vacation offerings in a way that celebrates the ease and pleasure of cross-border travel. Too often travel of this nature is perceived as challenging with respect to security and exchange issues.”

The Kootenay Rockies is one of six British Columbia tourism regions mandated to increase tourism revenues in the province.

For more information, contact Chris Dadson, president, Kootenay Rockies Tourism. Phone: 250-427-4838, Ext 203.