The Ammy Awards, named after Alberta’s official gemstone—Ammolite, recognize achievements at Alberta Visitor Information Centres (VICs) in:
- Innovation
- Service
- Individual Excellence
exclusive and rare as the gemstone itself, the Ammys are awarded annually at the Alberta Visitor Information Providers Conference. Awards are for organizations and individuals who have gone above and beyond, providing an exceptional Alberta VIC experience. The awards challenge VICs to achieve high levels of excellence, instill pride in staff, and recognize the value of VICs in the visitor’s path to purchase.
Ammy recipients are invited to use the award logo on marketing and promotional materials, and are encouraged to display the glass award and certificate honouring their achievement at their VIC.
For award information and application packages, contact Alberta Visitor Information Providers Program.
2015 Ammy Award Recipients
Operational Excellence
Best in Class – Hiring and Training
- Canmore Visitor Information Centre
Ongoing hiring challenges, including stiff competition for seasonal workers, saw the need for the centre to develop a recruitment campaign targeted to local university students using focused tactics such as increased use of free online job boards. The visitor information centre also connected its staff with 109 local tourism businesses and operators in a five-day training program to increase their knowledge about what’s available for visitors.
Best in Class – Innovation
- Banff Lake Louise Tourism
The placement of a pop-up information kiosk at high density locations in town resulted in 8,701 additional contacts outside the centre—eight per cent of all visitor engagements this summer provided by the centre. This drove much more tourism business to the community and provided more timely and relevant information to visitors.
Visitor Service Excellence
Best in Class – Visitor Services
- St. Albert Visitor Welcome Centre
As a new visitor information centre, the St. Albert Visitor Welcome Centre employed numerous innovative approaches, such as scavenger hunts and mobile booths at major events, to promoting its products and services offered to the community, front-line industry staff and visitors.
Individual Excellence
Best in Class – Travel Counselling
- Erin Alexander, Stony Plain & District Visitor Information Centre
Erin brings a positive “can-do” attitude in everything she does, including her leadership role in connecting with visitors through social media, which has increased the centre’s online presence and engagements this past summer.
Best in Class – Leaders in Visitor Information Centre Management
- Catherine Fournier, Stony Plain & District Visitor Information Centre
Catherine’s leadership skills and strategic thinking resulted in several cross-marketing initiatives between local businesses and the Stony Plain & District Visitor Information Centre. As a manager, she and her team successfully engaged more visitors online and scored 99 percent for customer service from an accredited mystery shopper.