Cara Vanderhall
Manager, Operations Visitor Services
Tourism Vancouver
Delivering on the promise of outstanding customer service provides a huge boost to the sales and marketing efforts of Tourism Vancouver. We know that when our visitors are dealt with in a thoughtful and enthusiastic manner they tell their family, friends and colleagues about their experience. Tourism Vancouver is pleased to support the good work of the Vancouver Tourism Awards Society in rewarding and recognizing the valuable contributions of our front line hospitality professionals.
Yavhel Velazquez
Manager
WorldHost Training Services
WorldHost® Training Services is proud to be a sponsor of the Vancouver Tourism Awards as the program is critical to recognizing the great service provided by professionals in the city! The enthusiasm, and often surprise, that individuals demonstrate when recognized is evidence of the positive impact for those who are doing their best to excel at their job. Thank you VTA for your part in raising awareness on the importance of world-class customer service as a best practice in the tourism industry, and for honouring those individuals who go above and beyond!
Philip M. Barnes
Regional Vice President, Pacific Northwest & General Manager
Fairmont Pacific Rim
The majority of people who work in the tourism industry live vicariously through the satisfaction of the guests they look after, and for them ‘guest’ is far more than a word. The Vancouver Tourism Awards Program play a significant role in our ability to recognize the contribution of those individuals who give their very best everyday. When a ‘guest’ takes the time to tell us of the contribution of one of our stars it presents us with a wonderful way to say “Thank You”, and for that I thank the Vancouver Tourism Awards.
Ed Baklor
Executive Vice President, Guest Services
Rocky Mountaineer
At Rocky Mountaineer, we have built our reputation on the high level of service that we have provided to our international guests for over 20 years. Our involvement and support of the Vancouver Tourism Awards program is key to our core values of creating life changing experiences in all areas of our organization. Recognition for our employees is something we have adopted internally but the VTA provides a bigger platform and it is truly an honour when one of our colleagues is acknowledged for guest service excellence amongst the top performers in Vancouver’s tourism industry. It also ensures that all of us whether we are working in hotels or at attractions, are doing our very best to go above and beyond for visitors, collectively giving our city and province a reputation for being a world class destination.
Jim Storie
President
The Vancouver Trolley Company
The Vancouver Trolley Company is proud to be a sponsor of The Vancouver Tourism Awards Program as it recognizes and rewards those who exceed visitor expectations. In other words, it epitomizes what we as a company encourage, excellent customer service. We proudly display all of the nominations certificates our staff receive in our front lobby so everyone who comes into the office can see how proud we are of their accomplishments. The annual awards event gives us all an opportunity to bring together all of our nominees so that they can celebrate their accomplishments with their peers. Their stories inspire us and recharge us as we re-discover the impact that our actions can have on visitors to our great city.
Eric Kalnins
Sales Manager, Travel and Tourism
BC Ferries Vacations
At BC Ferries Vacations our vision is to provide a continuously improving West Coast travel experience that consistently exceeds customer expectations. We are pleased to support the Vancouver Tourism Awards, and in turn recognize tourism and hospitality employees who are providing exceptional experiences to both visitors and locals of Vancouver.
Scott Mason
“Founder & Figurehead”
Landsea Tours Ltd.
The Vancouver Tourism Awards Program works on so many levels. It provides internal recognition for staff who go above and beyond the call of duty in customer service. It sets an example and allows all those on tourism front lines to see what exceptional customer service looks like. Not only are winners acknowledged personally, but so are the companies they work for. Seeing others getting awards motivates both staff and management to bump up customer service levels for the whole organization. Being honoured by a monthly award becomes something both individuals and companies strive for. This now provides an external benchmark, and the whole tourism industry sets the bar higher, and the ultimate beneficiaries of this are the visiting travelers who receive exceptional customer service. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
