March 26, 2013, Toronto – Many industry landmarks in Canada were
recognized during the annual Garden Tourism Awards presented during the
Garden Tourism Conference.
March 26, 2013, Toronto – Many industry landmarks in Canada were recognized during the annual Garden Tourism Awards presented during the Garden Tourism Conference.
The Garden Tourism Awards are presented to organizations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction.
Recipients travelled from across North America and as far away as Japan, France, Portugal, Italy and Australia to proudly accept their Awards.
“It is an honor to be part of the international community that has established an awards program to recognize the invaluable contribution the world’s outstanding garden experiences make, not only in terms of environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism, but also in terms of the equally important intangible benefits that nature brings to the soul,” said Canadian Garden Tourism Council chairperson Alexander Reford.
“According to Richard Benfield, author of ‘Garden Tourism’, more people visit gardens annually in the U.S. than visit Disneyland and Disneyworld combined, and more than visit Las Vegas in any given year," added conference chairperson Michel Gauthier.
"Given those impressive statistics, we’re certainly on the right track as we recognize the country and the world’s finest garden experiences in this vibrant, thriving and rapidly growing segment of the international tourism market.”
CANADIAN GARDEN TOURISM AWARD WINNERS
Garden of the Year: Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, N.B.
Achievement of the Year: Canadian Botanical Conservation Network.
Botanical Garden of the Year: VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver.
Destination of the Year: Montréal.
Destination Garden Centre of the Year: The Enjoy Centre, St. Albert, Alta.
Event of the Year: Mosaïculture International de Montréal.
Festival of the Year: Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa.
Honourable Mention: Garden Voices of Ontario’s Historic Gardens.
Initiative of the Year: St. Albert Botanical Art City, Alta.
New Garden Experience of the Year: Whistling Gardens, Wilsonville, Ont.
Promotion of the Year: gardenroute.ca, Peterborough and Area, Ont.
Person of the Year: Dave Cowen, B.C. Garden Tourism Society/The Butchart Gardens.
INTERNATIONAL GARDEN TOURISM AWARDS
Garden of the Year: The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, Merano, Italy.
Achievement of the Year: Gardens Without Limits Conference, Moselle, France.
Event of the Year: Gardening World Cup, Nagasaki, Japan.
Festival of the Year: Ponte de Lima International Garden Festival, Portugal.
Initiative of the Year: Chelsea Fringe Festival, London, England.
Promotion of the Year: National Garden Festival, Buffalo, N.Y.
Website of the Year: gardenvisit.com
Person of the Year: Richard Barley, CEO Open Gardens Australia
TOP 10 NORTH AMERICAN GARDENS WORTH TRAVELLING FOR:
• Atlanta Botanical Garden – Atlanta, Georgia.
• The Butchart Gardens – Brentwood Bay (Victoria), B.C.
• Chanticleer – Wayne, Pennsylvania.
• Filoli Gardens – Woodside, California.
• Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden – Richmond, Virginia.
• Missouri Botanical Garden – St. Louis, Missouri.
• Montreal Botanical Garden.
• Portland Japanese Garden – Portland, Oregon.
• Springs Preserve – Las Vegas.
• Vallarta Botanical Gardens – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
The Patrons of The Garden Tourism Awards are: Canadian Garden Tourism Council, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA), American Public Gardens Association (APGA) and Garden Tourism Conference.
The Garden Tourism Awards are supported by: Ontario and B.C. Garden Tourism Coalitions, Associations des jardins du Québec, Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association (LO), Communities in Bloom, Jardins sans limites, Metz, France.
The Garden Tourism Awards are sponsored by: VIA Rail Canada, Baxter Travel Media, Canadian Tourism Commission, CNLA, Air Canada and the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific.
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