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We are honoured to have been a finalist in last night's 2020 Chamber of Commerce Awards in the Business Innovation category and nominated for the COVID-Business Resiliency Award. The quality of the nominees and finalists was stellar and we were proud to be among those recognized.
As we reflect on the past year of the pandemic and how so many businesses have innovated, invested, adapted and collaborated in weathering the pandemic to contribute in new ways we know there is hope for the future as businesses are doing amazing things!
And while we didn't take home the award, the true reward for our company has been the incredible support from the tourism industry as a company specialized in experiential training that is in-community, high-touch, high-engagement and high-human interaction. Like so many companies, we asked ourselves - how can we contribute in new and different ways that optimize our skills, networks and knowledge, and partners to carve our a 'blue ocean' in these unusual times. We knew the future was in co-creating new ways to connect industry, share expertise and build the knowledge base together.
When we announced the launch of Tourism Connects in October to respond to the demand to bridge the gap between webinars and 1:1 advisory services, we couldn't have anticipated the incredibly positive response. Tourism training will forever be transformed and it is so exciting to take this time to work with destination partners all across Canada to define a new future, and be part of it!
By April 30th, we will have designed, developed, and piloted several new online e-learning and blended learning approaches for a future where new online training will be needed. Special thanks to the British Columbia Tourism Resiliency Network, Travel Alberta, Tourism Cochrane, Tourism Saskatchewan, Tourism Regina, Regional Tourism Organization 8 and 9, and the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism.
With our destination partners, we achieved a major goal of coast-to-coast connections with the launch of #TourismConnects. We've delivered over 40 Ideas Labs bringing the voices and insights of tourism operators and producing a suite of summary outputs for industry, some of which are posted publicly, others to targeted stakeholder groups. And, the dream of connecting tourism training at the tactical, practical level for operators is taking shape as we work with industry on e-micro-learning, short online courses, and virtual blended programs to unite businesses through technology with a common need, interest and desire to connect, share and learn together.
2021 will be a busy year as we prepare to launch the Tourism Connects learning portal in the fall and work with the tourism industry to conquer new horizons in the digital learning space.
As the Managing Partner for our company, I know that it takes a village, and I'm so thankful to work with an amazing home team (Lesley, Diana, Luc, Paul, Todd) and incredible collaborating partners: PJ Osler & Associations, RWNetworks, Mitchell Creative, What's Your Story, Island Gourmet Trails, GMIST and JEBBA Strategies and Holdings. Together, we are better.