Saint John, N.B. - The Tourism Industry Association of Canada has announced the recipients of the 2009 National Awards for Tourism Excellence presented by The Globe and Mail. The recipients were announced as part of a gala ceremony and dinner at the Delta Brunswick in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The ceremony allowed tourism leaders to honour all of the award finalists, who have demonstrated leadership, innovation and commitment to the highest levels of service in the tourism industry.

Three finalists were named in each of the 14 award categories, and were judged by a panel of tourism industry leaders. Among the finalists were individuals and organizations from all ten provinces, as well as Canada’s north. The recipient of a 15th award, the Canadian Travel Press Lifetime Achievement Award, was selected by TIAC’s Board of Directors.

The recipients of the 2009 National Awards for Tourism Excellence are:

AIR CANADA BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD – SINGLE-UNIT
Wat’Chee Lodge (Churchill, Manitoba)

HILTON FAMILY OF HOTELS CANADA BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD – MULTIPLE-UNIT
Pacrim Hospitality Services Inc. (Bedford, Nova Scotia)

DELTA HOTELS & RESORTS NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD
Éco-Odyssée (LaPêche, Québec)

DELOITTE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
edVentures (Fredericton, New Brunswick)

STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS WORLDWIDE INC. CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Organic Farm (St. Phillips, Newfoundland & Labrador)

TOURISM TORONTO TRAVEL MEDIA AWARD
Sandra Phinney (Yarmouth, Nova Scotia)

VIA RAIL CANADA VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Joseph Hollick (Hamilton, Ontario)

FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD
L’eau chaude - c’est juste le début - New Brunswick Tourism & Parks (Fredericton, New Brunswick) & IG2 (Québec)

METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE EVENT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Folklorama (Winnipeg, Manitoba)

WESTJET ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD
2008 Holiday Campaign - Tourism Toronto (Toronto, Ontario)

CTHRC AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
Great Wolf Lodge (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARD
Karl Doetsch, Delta Fredericton (Fredericton, New Brunswick)

PARKS CANADA SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARD
Cape Jourimain Nature Centre (Bayfield, New Brunswick)

PACRIM HOSPITALITY SERVICES INC. ONLINE INNOVATION AWARD
My Trip Planner - T4G Limited (Saint John, New Brunswick) & New Brunswick Tourism and Parks (Fredericton, New Brunswick)

CANADIAN TRAVEL PRESS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
E.J. (Ted) Grant - Simpson Air

The National Awards for Tourism Excellence were developed in 2003 by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada to recognize and foster Canadian tourism excellence. The awards allow Canada’s tourism industry to recognize those people, places, organizations and events that have gone above and beyond to offer a superior tourism experience to travelers in Canada.