Upper Canada Village's Pumpkinferno Lights Up with Tourism Event of the Year Award
TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) is pleased to announce this year's winner of the Tourism Event of the Year Award has been presented to Upper Canada Village's Pumpkinferno. The award was presented at the 2013 Ontario Tourism Awards held in Toronto, Ontario and recognizes an event that exemplifies industry best practices, demonstrates an increase in visitor satisfaction, and stimulates the local economy through an increase in visitor spending.
Pumpkinferno is a fall event at Upper Canada Village displaying the artistry in over 5,000 LED-lit, hand-carved pumpkins in over 30 themed artistic installations. Visitors take a 45 minute walking tour through the exhibits, many inspired by the Village itself, but many an eclectic display of scenes from exotic places and historic ages, forest animals and sea-born creatures, story book heroes, mythical characters, cultural icons and more. .... all creatively carved from artificial pumpkins. Pumpkinferno was supported with Celebrate Ontario funding and the generous sponsor support from tourism and community partners throughout the region.
Pumpkinferno was designed to find its own niche by celebrating the Halloween season in a hauntingly beautiful and artistic way that would appeal to all age levels, with a focus on the family market. The youthful influence in the creative development by the young artists ensured a broad demographic appeal; creating a cool and trendy "must-see" event for younger audiences as well. In 2012, it attracted over 34,500 guests in a four-week period.
Pumpkinferno's success can be seen in its numbers-9% repeat visitors during the four weeks; record 99.8% satisfaction level; an unprecedented 36 private sector business partners and generated $4,092,138 in visitor spending.
The Ontario Tourism Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, which is a key contributor to Ontario's economic prosperity. Nominations were open to all individuals in the tourism industry operating in Ontario and were judged by an independent, third-party panel of industry and marketing experts.
Quotes
"When you can create a must see event that brings visitors to your community, visitors who are willing to line up for hours and come back- well you know you've got a winner!"
Beth Potter, President & CEO
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario
Quick Facts:
- Tourism is an important part of Ontario's economy, supporting over 300,000 jobs, according to preliminary numbers.
- According to preliminary results, visits to Ontario increased by 1.4 per cent to 105.2 million for the year 2011 over 2010.
- Preliminary results show that tourism receipts increased by 4.8 per cent in 2011 to over $23 billion.
Learn more:
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario - www.tiaontario.ca
Ontario Tourism Summit - www.ontariotourismsummit.com
Upper Canada Village - www.uppercanadavillage.com
SOURCE: Tourism Industry Association of Ontario
Catarina Cunha
Executive Assistant
TIAO
416.483.1691
ccunha@tiaontario.ca
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