For immediate release: February 16, 2011.
Canadian Badlands Ltd. to host tourism conference
Brooks, Alberta – Registration is open for the Canadian Badlands Ltd.’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and its first ever Tourism Development Conference.
Representatives from 62 municipalities, and tourism organizations and operators from across the Canadian Badlands will come together March 30-31 in Brooks, Alberta. A wide range of tourism experts will speak at the conference which is a full day of professional development sessions.
“The conference’s main purpose is to strengthen the Canadian Badlands identity and brand, promote the development of new tourism products, increase market-readiness among tourism operators, and expand the cross-promotion of businesses and partnerships to advance the Canadian Badlands’ tourism strategy,” says Manuelle Prunier, Executive Director of the Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL).
Tourism workshops will cover the myths and realities of sustainable tourism, how to create authentic Canadian Badlands’ guest experiences, rural team-building techniques, and storytelling to help build the brand. A Canadian Badlands Café will give opportunities to build a shared vision on the future of tourism in the region and identify the resources needed.
The cost to attend the two-day conference and AGM is $100 per person. Early bird registration runs until March 1 and costs $80. Registration for those who wish to attend only the conference or the AGM is $50 per person. To register, please contact Niesa Silzer at CanadianBadlands@gmail.com.
Media Contact:
Manuelle Prunier, Executive Director, Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL)
Office: 403-823-7743, Cell: 403-436-0300
For immediate release: February 14, 2011.
Tourism investment in Canadian Badlands gets a boost
Canadian Badlands – The Canadian Badlands region is tourism investment friendly.
That’s the message Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL) is sending to potential investors with the recent approval of funding from the Community Futures Network of Alberta’s Rural Diversification Initiative (RDI). The funding will support a new Canadian Badlands Tourism Investment Attraction Initiative.
“Canadian Badlands Ltd. strongly believes that a regionally focused initiative is crucial to successful tourism investment development and attraction that will produce new tourism services in the next three to five years,” says Doug Jones, CBL President.
CBL will identify and actively market priority investment opportunities and match investors with projects to develop much needed tourism accommodations, RV resorts, food and beverage services, and other opportunities identified by communities. The expected benefits are the development of community-based investments, attraction of new investors/developers, the development of new businesses offering tourism services/attractions, the creation of additional spin-off businesses, and the creation of employment.
“The goals of the one year project are to create an investment friendly environment in the Canadian Badlands through the development of partnerships, creation of policies, and identification and removal of barriers, and to have new investors commit to feasible tourism opportunities. ” adds Manuelle Prunier, CBL Executive Director.
The initiative will operate until February 2012 from a centrally located office on the Brooks campus of Medicine Hat College thanks to an in-kind rent subsidy arranged with the college. The initiative begins with the creation of the Canadian Badlands tourism investment development strategy by Sierra Planning and Management to identify priority investment opportunities. Western Sky Management Associates will implement the strategy, actively marketing the investment opportunities and matching investors with appropriate opportunities. Activities, information sessions and meetings across the Canadian Badlands will include a Regional Investment Symposium and seminars on Innovative Access to Capital. The initiative is guided by an advisory Tourism Investment Development Committee including area Economic Development Officers (EDOs), Regional Economic Development Alliances (REDAs), and representatives from four Community Futures (CF) organizations.
Community Futures Big Country, Drumheller, sponsored CBL’s funding application. Wild Rose, Chinook, and Entre-Corp Community Futures offices are also supporting the project. Community Futures is supported by Western Economic Diversification Canada. The corporate partners are two credit unions in the Canadian Badlands – 1st Choice Savings and Credit Union, with five branches in the Lethbridge area, and Chinook Credit Union, serving Brooks and 12 other locations in Southern Alberta.
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Media Enquiries:
Manuelle Prunier, Executive Director, Canadian Badlands Limited, Office: 403-823-7743, Cell: 403-436-0300
Canadian Badlands Ltd.
P.O. Box 1408
Drumheller, AB
T0J 0Y0
403.823.7741
569 2nd Street SE
Medicine Hat, AB
T1A 0C5
403.528.0667 (p) 403.528.3109 (f)
Customer Service Excellence online training course…
The Ultimate Road Trip to Customer Service
“WE NEED TRAINING ON CUSTOMER SERVICE” was heard throughout The Canadian Badlands Ltd. So we embarked on a journey to fulfill the need expressed so earnestly by both employers and employees.
The landscape:
In an increasingly sophisticated traveler marketplace, customer service expectations are rising. The quality of customer service is critical. Bad service results in negative word-of-mouth, brand switching or rejection of a tourist destination, less referral business, and poor repeat business.
The vehicle:
Canadian Badlands Ltd’s online Customer Service Excellence course will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to offer exceptional service to visitors and aid in the Canadian Badlands becoming a significant destination for Alberta and Canada.
The road map to success:
The course includes five key modules of customer service that you can complete at your own pace in the comfort of your home or office. As you work through the course content, you’ll learn more about others who work within the Canadian Badlands and about the attractions and communities. The more you know about what the area has to offer, the better service you may provide to the customers and tourists who visit.
Register today by contacting Judy Brown at 403-528-0609 or jbrown@canadianbadlands.com
For immediate release: April 21, 2011.
Drumheller celebrates Mayday
Drumheller, Alberta – Drumheller Valley celebrates its mining centennial with its first Mayday celebration in decades. The Mayday Festival will take place April 30 – May 1, 2011. Activities planned for Drumheller and the nearby communities of East Coulee and Wayne include a Mayday Parade, street festival and ghost walks, Atlas Coal Mine tours, children’s activities, Centennial Fruit Dance, guided mine ruin tours and a night of miner music. Coal in the Valley, a new book on the area’s mining history will also be launched.
Mayday was a big deal in the valley where 139 coal mines once operated. Hundreds of men would march in the Miners’ Parade, the main Mayday event in Drumheller. Everyone who worked at the mines had the day off and a giant picnic hosted by the unions would take place in Drumheller’s Newcastle Park. The event became so popular that children would skip school to attend. Eventually, Mayday became an official school holiday in Drumheller.
“Today, most people think of Drumheller as Dinosaur Valley, but our roots are really in coal mining”, says Linda Digby, executive director at the Atlas Coal Mine, a national historic site dedicated to preserving the coalmining history of the area. “Even geologist Joseph Tyrrell, after whom the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is named, was in the area mapping coal seams when he stumbled upon dinosaur bones. The Drumheller Valley Mining Centennial gives the entire valley an opportunity to collectively celebrate its colourful mining heritage with special events planned from May-November to honour the men who dug the black.”
More Mayday Festival information and links are found at http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/ Drumheller Valley is part of the Canadian Badlands, a massive tourism region encompassing 90,000 square kilometres of southeastern Alberta, www.canadianbadlands.com
Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL) is a not-for-profit Alberta Corporation providing a new and innovative approach to creating an integrated, destination-based tourism industry in South-Eastern Alberta. CBL is the largest co-operative regional partnership of municipal governments in Alberta with 62 municipalities as its shareholders.
Media Advisory: Easy to download, credited, high-resolution photos are available at http://www.clearcommunications.ca/badlands/ Ms Digby is an excellent interview prospect on the coalmining history of the Drumheller Valley. She can be reached via email: pitboss@atlascoalmine.ab.ca or by telephone, 403-822-2220.
Media enquiries:
Judy Hammond, CLEAR Communications, judy@clearcommunications.ca 416-920-5817.
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For Immediate Release: May 3, 2011
Canadian Badlands Ltd to host Access to Capital Seminar
Canadian Badlands – Operators of community-based tourism ventures in the Canadian Badlands are invited to attend an Innovative Access to Capital Seminar on June 7 at the Brooks Campus of Medicine Hat College from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Seminar topics include innovative investment ideas for community-based ventures and getting your community investment ready.
Funding and community-based models to attract investment capital will be presented along with examples of local success stories. A step-by-step approach to developing a community-based investment program and what selectors and investors look for when choosing a location for investing will also be discussed.
To register or for more information, contact Stacey Schoenberger, Tourism Investment Coordinator for the Canadian Badlands, 403-347-4422, sschoen@western-sky.ca. The cost of the seminar is $10 and lunch is included.
The Innovative Access to Capital Seminar is part of a Tourism Investment Development and Attraction Initiative project funded by the Community Futures Rural Diversification Initiative. Community Futures is supported by Western Economic Diversification Canada.
Canadian Badlands Ltd. (CBL) is a not-for-profit Alberta Corporation providing a new and innovative approach to creating an integrated, destination-based tourism industry in South-Eastern Alberta. CBL is the largest co-operative regional partnership of municipal governments in Alberta with 62 municipalities as its shareholders.
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Media Contact: Jody Lamb, Regional Development Specialist
403.866.7079
jlamb@canadianbadlands.com
www.canadianbadlands.com
For immediate release: May 31, 2011.
New dinosaur prospecting and more
Southeastern Alberta: The Canadian Badlands, a massive tourism region encompassing 90,000 square kilometres of southeastern Alberta, has many new things for travelers to see and do this summer. These are a few:
A Prospecting Program and THE Dinosaur Day Camp are new at Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site, 2 hours east of Calgary. The Prospecting Program is an all-day excursion into the park’s spectacular terrain in search of dinosaur bones and other fossil remains. Led by a trained palaentological technician, each excursion covers a different area in the park. Participation is limited so the opportunity to learn where and what to look for and to discover something new is real. The cost per participant is $125 with lunch included. Kids ages 7-12 years will love THE Dinosaur Day Camp. It’s a mix of indoor and outdoor activities led by two park staff. Kids get to examine real fossils, practice realistic excavation techniques and explore Dinosaur Park’s unique ecosytem. The 2.45 hour camp includes a snack and refreshments as well as a take-home souvenir. Cost per child is $28. Reservations for both new programs are a must. Further details are at http://sales.tpr.alberta.ca/dpp/default.aspx
Blackfoot Crossing will host its1st Annual Blackfoot Crossing Fest on June 18. The festival features the World Chicken Dance Championships. The Chicken Dance was inspired by the prairie chicken during mating season when the male dances to win over a female. Colourful regalia, style, and speed have made the Chicken Dance a favourite at pow wows across North America but its origins are with the Blackfoot peoples of southern Alberta. Dancers from across Canada and the US will compete for prize money in various categories. Visitors can also tour Blackfoot Crossing, Canada’s largest aboriginal historic site and enjoy food demos, craft workshops, storytelling, hiking trails, tipi building and games for young families. Blackfoot Crossing is 1.5 hours east of Calgary, near Bassano. http://blackfootcrossing.ca/
Hundreds of geocachers are expected at the Best of the Bad Mega Event, July 16, 2011 in Three Hills, 1.45 hours northeast of Calgary. Multiple hunts include Cache and Release, Adventure Route and the Power Trail. There will be workshops for the unitiated to the seasoned enthusiast. Kids Geocaching, a Scavenger Hunt, Splash Park and Geo Crafts will be available for young families. Excursions are also planned to various points of interest in the region. http://bestofthebad.ca
More 2011 travel news is included in this blog post at http://canadabadlands.com/2011/05/new-for-2011/ Traveler information is also available at http://canadabadlands.com/
Media advisory: High-resolution photos are available online. Contact Judy Hammond by email for easy access and downloads: judy@clearcommunications.ca
Media enquiries:
Judy Hammond, CLEAR Communications Inc., judy@clearcommunications.ca
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