World Travel Awards Come to Western Canada

For the first time in its 27-year history, the World Travel Awards will be held in Canada – and the Thompson Okanagan region of B.C. will serve as the hosts. The Thompson Okanagan has won a bid to hold the Awards event for three years, starting with the Predator Ridge Resort in Vernon in 2020.

Predator Ridge Resort will welcome over 300 international delegates to the North American gala ceremony in October 2020, as part of the World Travel Awards grand tour. Participants will include delegates from global airlines, tour operators, travel agents, international media and hospitality professionals from around the world.

The host Thompson Okanagan cities for the second and third years will be announced in spring 2020 and spring of 2021 respectively.

The World Travel Awards announced the successful three-year bid at a recent gala ceremony in Madeira, Portugal. Previous hosts include New York, Montego Bay, Orlando, Turks & Caicos, the Bahamas and Antigua.

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), which was a partner in the bid, is a two-time recipient of the Responsible Tourism Award for North America (2018, 2019), and also took the overall Responsible Tourism Award for the world last year in Lisbon. “We are so honored to welcome such a prestigious event to the Thompson Okanagan,” said TOTA president Glenn Mandziuk.

“This fascinating region of British Columbia, Canada is leading the way in sustainable tourism practice and serving as a benchmark of how to preserve Mother Nature for the benefit of future generations,” said Graham Cooke, founder of the World Travel Awards.

For more, go to www.worldtravelawards.com

Photo Caption

Vineyards are numerous in the Thompson Okanagan region of B.C.