BOW VALLEY – The Bow Valley was well represented at the 2019 Alberta Tourism Awards (ALTO) this year, with both Sunshine Village Resort and Parks Canada’s Banff field unit picking up a win.
Sunshine’s Slush Cup was awarded the Tourism Event or Festival Award, while Parks picked up the Tourism Content Award for its Bison Reintroduction Backcountry Science web series during the ALTO award ceremony held last month (Oct. 28).
“In 2017, Parks Canada took on a landmark project: returning wild bison to Banff National Park – a landscape they’ve been absent from for nearly 150 years,” a press release from ALTO stated.
“The Banff herd now roams a remote mountainous region of the park. A five-part web series tells this incredible story in action, providing an intimate look into bison country as viewers follow Parks Canada scientists on the frontlines of conservation.”
The series itself looks at the science used to carry out this complex project of reintroduction. As of the end of October, the series had 139.9K visitors as well as hitting 85.5K on Facebook, 54.4K on Twitter, and 15K on YouTube.
Meanwhile, another part of Banff National Park also saw some love from the ALTO awards. Sunshine’s Slush Cup is a popular end of season event where snowboarders and skiers alike gather to try some tricks in just that – slush.
“It’s a sure sign winter is over,” the press release stated. “The Slush Cup at Banff Sunshine has crowds pour in to watch daredevils try to skim across a 110-foot pool of ice-cold water. This year, the 91-year-old festival saw over 9,000 visitors take part in the weekend bringing approximately $2.7 million to the Bow Valley economy.”
The event is typically hosted over the May long weekend and according to the press release has encouraged many bars, restaurants and hotels to feature Slush Cup specials.
The ALTO Awards aim to recognize Alberta’s best tourism industry leaders each year during the Alberta Tourism Conference.
“The ALTO Awards recognize the best of the best in Alberta tourism,” the press release stated. “They are mavericks in their field, helping contribute a record $8.9 billion to Alberta’s economy in 2017.”
It’s judges panel is made up of representatives from various tourism industry sectors, meant to represent all the regions of Alberta.
Visit the Travel Alberta website for more information.
