The Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association is celebrating the people and organizations that drive tourism and economic growth as February 19th marks Destination Professionals Day.
According to GPRTA, the date is significant as members of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce and the Detroit Manufacturers Club came together at the Cadillac Hotel on February 19th, 1896, to form the world’s first destination organization- the “Detroit Convention and Businessman’s League.”
Since then, more than 10,000 destination organizations have been established and operate today, representing a wide spectrum of entities, including tourism boards, sports commissions, and film offices.
In Grande Prairie, GPRTA is credited with developing the annual Visitor Guide and operating the Visitor Information Centre. The organization also works to highlight the region’s diverse, vast landscape with partners like Destination Canada, and Tourism Yellowknife to develop a Northern Sky Corridor, which hopes to accelerate tourism in Northern Alberta and the NWT.
As such, GPRTA says recognizing the 19th as Destination Professionals Day is important as the initiative raises awareness by highlighting the contributions of destination professionals in transforming destination-communities like those in the Grande Prairie region into ideal places to visit, live, and work in.
