The city has the grain elevators, the botanic park, Big Lake and other tourist sites. But there is another good reason to visit St. Albert.
The city now houses one of the best tourism centres in the province for visitor services, as recognized by an award from Alberta Culture and Tourism.
Staff at the St. Albert chamber of commerce, which runs the centre, received the award on Tuesday.
“We were really honoured,” said Jennifer McCurdy, vice-president of operations. “It sets the bar for us to continue to bring the best service to our visitors and our residents.”
The Ammy awards, named in honour of Alberta’s official gemstone, ammolite, recognize achievements of Alberta visitor information centres in the categories of operational, visitor services and individual excellence.
St. Albert’s centre was announced as a finalist for a visitor service excellence award last week. McCurdy said there are more than 111 visitor information centres in the province.
But for this award, St. Albert competed against “two of the big boys,” she said – Tourism Calgary and the CrossIron Mills visitor centre, also near Calgary.
“It was very exciting,” she said.
The St. Albert Visitor Welcome Centre has operated out of the chamber building since last year, after the chamber struck a deal to provide the service while the city helps out with promotional material and some $30,000 a year.
Since then, staff has been busy ramping up services, said McCurdy.
The centre hired two summer students, who extended the centre’s reach online by setting up a website and keeping Twitter and Facebook updated. The centre also provides visitors with free water, Wi-Fi, a set of picnic tables and a treasure chest to entertain the children.
Its pride and joy, however, is a mobile information kiosk, said McCurdy.
The kiosk was located at the farmers’ market and some festivals in the city throughout the summer. It was likely one of the reasons the centre received the award and staff now plans to extend services to more events in the city, said McCurdy.
There is also a plan to provide staff with cross training from other visitor centres, to better inform tourists in the future about events in nearby communities, she said.
“We do want to grow that part of our services and start looking at other events being held in St. Albert … just making sure that we are reaching the visitors,” she said.
The Ammy award is now on display at the centre. While staff can only apply for the recognition every three years, other award opportunities are being explored, she added.
“There is one in innovation, so we have to see what the criteria are and see if we can fit that,” she said.
The St. Albert Visitor Welcome Centre is located a 71 St. Albert Trail, near the Superstore.
