Tourism Saskatchewan has announced the list of 40 finalists for the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence for 2010, and the Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is among them.
The local Festival, which won the 2009 Tourism Saskatchewan award for product marketing with a budget under $20,000 is this a finalist for the Online Marketing Campaign of the Year Award. The other finalists are the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Saskatoon and the Southern Prairie Railway, Ogema.
Randy Goulden with both Tourism Yorkton and the YFF explained, "this is the first time this award has been given out, and it's specifically for online marketing."
Goulden said the nomination is certainly gratifying.
"We are thrilled," she said, adding as an organization YFF has made a commitment to supporting what they do via "social media marketing." In fact, the Festival is currently readying the launch of an online system which will more fully integrate its website with social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. "As we update one it will automatically update the others."
Goulden said the Festival has recognized the importance of connecting via social networking, not just for their own organization, but for those in the film industry.
"For the past several years we've been providing workshops on multi-platform and social media marketing," she said.
The provincial organization is happy with the overall list of nominees.
"It will be such a pleasure to pay tribute to these remarkable Saskatchewan 'ambassadors.' The impressive list of finalists speaks to the diverse range of experiences offered here, to a commitment to exceptional service, and to the eagerness to showcase our magnificent home to visitors," said Dr. Lynda Haverstock, President/CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan in a prepared release. "The businesses and individuals who will be honoured on April 20 are key players in our sector's growth and success, contributing over $1.6 billion to the economy last year and employing over 62,000 citizens (11.64 per cent of workers in the province)."
The finalists and award recipients will be honoured at the 22nd annual Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala, which will be held Wednesday, April 20 at TCU Place in Saskatoon.
