This award recognizes Indigenous tourism businesses that demonstrate authenticity, cultivate a greater understanding of Indigenous culture, history and traditions, and contribute to the resilience of the local Indigenous community.

Category-specific Eligibility

• Nominees must be majority Indigenous-owned/controlled, doing business in British Columbia in 2022, and provide tourism or hospitality experiences and/or related services.

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Provide a brief overview of the nominee’s Indigenous cultural product, service or experience offered to visitors/guests.

• Describe the business health and long-term viability of the nominated experience.

• Describe the business’ customer service philosophy/values and how customer satisfaction and areas for improvement are measured and tracked.

• Describe how the tourism business works collaboratively between Indigenous people, the tourism industry, governments and the broader community.

• Describe how the tourism business contributes directly or indirectly to the sustainability of the local Indigenous community and preserves and protects the community traditions

This award recognizes an individual, organization or consortium operating in British Columbia who has championed the implementation and/or education of sustainable and regenerative practices in their tourism or hospitality operation. This category will celebrate those who have made a commitment (big or small) to working on goals and actions aligned with one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe the nominee’s commitment to sustainable and regenerative initiatives within the tourism & hospitality industry.

• Describe how these initiatives are aligned with one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Describe how the nominee’s initiatives protect, enhance and improve assets to guarantee a prosperous future (natural, economic or social).

This award recognizes a British Columbia tourism and hospitality industry employer who has upheld high standards of excellence in human resource practices, with a specific focus on mental health & wellness.

Category-specific Eligibility

• Must not have accrued any penalties under the workers' compensation legislation in the last five years

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• How would you describe the organizational culture of the nominated organization? How do the organization’s vision, values and leadership practices contribute to creating a positive work environment?

• What initiatives, policies, and procedures are in place to support and promote employee mental health and wellness in the workplace? (e.g. leadership commitment, training, clear expectations etc.).

• How does the nominated organization demonstrate ongoing commitment to supporting and improving psychological health and safety? Please provide as many specific examples as possible (e.g. periodic employee surveys, health & safety committee agenda, training etc.).

• To what extent have the nominated organization’s HR and OHS practices impacted its ability to attract and retain staff? Please provide as many quantifiable indicators as possible (such as staff turnover and/or retention rates, customer satisfaction scores, employee survey metrics, injury and claims data etc.).

This category aims to raise the profile of women across the province who have achieved phenomenal success and are making a real impact in BC’s tourism and hospitality industry. This award recognizes the achievements, professional expertise and leadership of outstanding women who play a vital role in our industry. We use an inclusive definition of the terms woman and female and welcome trans, cisgender queer and non-binary people to apply.

Category-specific Eligibility

• Must identify as female

• Must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in the industry

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe the impact the nominee has had on the tourism & hospitality industry.

• What impact, if any, has the nominee had on raising awareness of gender equality issues in the workplace?

• Describe how the nominee has championed women in the workplace.

• Describe how honouring family, professionalism and community has supported the nominee’s success.

• Describe how the business, the business environment or the industry has been positively impacted by this nominee’s contribution.

This award recognizes an individual, organization or consortium that has embraced the opportunity to think outside the box and develop an innovative project, initiative, service experience or campaign that pushes the limits of how the tourism and hospitality sectors have traditionally operated.

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe the innovative product/initiative/campaign and its objectives.

• Describe the strategies and tactics that were used in successfully delivering the campaign/ initiative. Highlight how they were new or innovative.

• Describe the impact and results of this innovation.

This award recognizes an individual, organization or consortium that has demonstrated social responsibility through efforts to enhance social and cultural impact, help foster collaboration, and build resiliency in the community.

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe how the nominee demonstrates leadership in their commitment to social responsibility and/or impact.

• Describe the nominee’s tangible impact on the local community and the broader tourism & hospitality industry.

• Describe how the nominee works collaboratively with the tourism industry, governments and stakeholders in the broader community.

• Describe how the nominee is creating a lasting positive impact within the community.

The BCDMOA Professional Excellence Award recognizes a community DMO for their demonstration of leadership, innovation, accountability and collaboration with the tourism industry in British Columbia. This DMO is a proven leader, an example of professionalism and best practices and has provided measurable value to the local and provincial tourism industry.

Category-specific Eligibility

• The Award is open to any community-based DMO who has been a member of the BC DMO Association in 2021.

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Innovation – In the last year, what has the DMO accomplished that was innovative?

• Industry Support - How did the DMO demonstrate leadership in the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Accountability – How does the DMO demonstrate its accountability to its stakeholders and the industry?

• Collaboration – How has the DMO collaborated with other regions, sectors or industry partners to achieve shared goals?

• Competitiveness – How has the DMO increased visitation in a profitable way?

• Performance Reporting – What systems does the DMO have in place to track and measure performance?

• Industry Advancement/Involvement – How did the DMO demonstrate leadership to advance the tourism industry?

This award recognizes an individual, organization or consortium operating in British Columbia that has made a significant contribution toward creating inclusive and welcoming experiences for everyone. Through established initiatives and actions, nominees have demonstrated commitment to supporting accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion within their operations, products, services and experiences.

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe how the nominee excels in providing a meaningful accessible tourism and/or hospitality product, service, or experience.

• Describe how the nominee has demonstrated excellence in reducing barriers for guests of all abilities to participate in your business.

• Describe the measures used to ensure the products, services and/experiences meet the needs of visitors with diverse needs?

• Describe the nominee's commitment to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. What initiatives are in place?

This award recognizes an individual, organization or consortium that has developed, delivered, promoted and sold a new or improved tourism product or experience that reflects the British Columbia tourism brand and contributes to a remarkable visitor experience.

A remarkable experience is one that triggers a consumer to share via word of mouth (including social media) their positive vacation experience; one that exceeds expectations

Nomination Requirements

Please address each of the following criteria in your nomination submission, limiting this to approximately 250 words per question in order to be consistent for the judging panel. Bullet point responses are acceptable.

• Describe the nominee’s remarkable experience. What makes this experience uniquely remarkable?

• Describe the strength of the nominated experience: its financial performance, strategic advantages, relation to the BC Tourism Brand and long-term viability.

• Provide evidence of positive consumer perspective on the experience (e.g., online reviews, social media engagements etc.)

• Discuss how the nominee succeeds in providing consistently memorable visitor/ guest experiences and exceeds visitor/guest expectations. What systems or processes are in place?