FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2008                                                            

WHITEHORSE HOTELS SHOW OFF THEIR NEWLY RENOVATED PROPERTIES AT THE SIXTH ANNUAL RED CARPET TOUR

Several of Whitehorse’s largest hotels, members of the Yukon Convention Bureau, took the opportunity last Wednesday (October 22) to give meeting planners an ‘eyeful’ of their upgraded facilities. The convention business brings thousands of delegates to Whitehorse each year and with them an impressive return on investment for marketing dollars. YCB member hotels are taking advantage of this lucrative market. Significant investment has been made in the accommodations sector: modernizing décor, replacing fixtures and furniture, and in some instances completely gutting spaces and refurbishing from the bottom up.

Each year, the Yukon Convention Bureau organizes a site inspection of convention and meeting venues, including hotels, museums, sports facilities and other types of event sites. Local planners – that is, individuals who bring meetings from the ‘outside’ into the Yukon, or those who encourage meetings to ‘stay home’ in the Territory – are hosted on this fast-paced, day-long tour. During the luncheon, the planners are invited to a trade show - held exclusively for them – where they can network with additional meetings and events service suppliers. This year, participants were also treated to a virtual familiarization tour of Dawson City, with a demonstration of the Yukon Convention Bureau’s new Virtual Visit. Through this e-FAM, YCB staff are able to conduct remote guided site inspections for potential clients located almost anywhere in the world.

Plans are already underway to improve on this year’s offering. Until now, the busy itinerary has only allowed visits to properties within the Whitehorse city limits. Next year, the Red Carpet Tour could run for a day and a half, giving planners an opportunity to inspect outlying facilities as well. As in the past, the 2008 trade show portion of Red Carpet Day was reserved for the meeting planners only. However, exhibitors have expressed an interest in opening up the trade show to the public in up-coming years so that many more Whitehorse residents can become acquainted with what our city has to offer.  ‘Red Carpet on the Road’ – held once before in 2007 – takes Yukon meeting planners to other Yukon communities, where conference facilities are available. This may also be repeated in the future.

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