Insider Events - Visit safely in Edmonton, from touchdown to takeoff

Visit safely in Edmonton, from touchdown to takeoff
Destination Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) certification for Edmonton
Date: Certification obtained June 2021

Organizing Team: (collaboration of our partners)

• Edmonton Convention Centre
• Edmonton Expo Centre
• Rogers Place
• Edmonton International Airport
• TRAXX Coachlines
• Edmonton Destination Marketing Hotels Association (EDMH) Partners

Who is the audience you are targeting by having this certification?
We are targeting meeting planners who are looking at organizing events in Edmonton.

What is the main objective for getting the city certified?
The main objective is to cover the delegate’s journey from touchdown to takeoff. We want the journey into our city to be safe & accredited.

From arrival to departure: the airport, the accommodation, transportation, the venues, and hotels, all partners need to be certified.

What is unique about the GBAC certification for the city of Edmonton?
Our venues were already certified but we wanted to become destination certified. We are the first in Canada to obtain GBAC Certification. We are 1 of 4 Destinations in North America to be GBAC certified.

What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome?
We had many hotels that still needed to be certified. We established a committee to oversee the hotel certification process. Hotels who were certified first helped the other ones to become certified. It was a real collaborative approach.

What was the biggest success?
I would say to see how it all came together at the end. We were able to celebrate the fact that everyone worked diligently to have the city certified by a certain date. Respecting the timeline was the biggest challenge but also our biggest success.

Did you do anything new or innovative?
Having the Destination certified was new in itself. Previously you would have seen hotels certified or arenas certified but not the whole destination. Learn more about, “How we keep you safe?” by watching the video - Explore Edmonton GBAC Star Certified Destination

How do you see the future for Destination Edmonton now that you are certified?
Once you are certified as a destination you are always certified. Our partners will continue to update their individual certification for the next 2 years and then reevaluate the need.

Any tips or lessons learned?
Communication with GBAC during the whole process was key. We moved the various stakeholders (hotels, venues, arena, airport, transportation) throughout the process by establishing a regular stakeholders’ meeting to keep the momentum moving and to solve any challenges or roadblocks that came up.

Last words
We’ve launched a booking incentive that aligns with the city-wide GBAC Star accreditation. To learn more about this click here: sales incentive or contact Stephanie Lynch, CMP at slynch@exploreedmonton.com

Article compiled by Elodie LORTAL, CMP, DES | LinkedIn, at National Arts Centre | Centre national des Arts: My Company | LinkedIn

Article edited by Cynthia Beaudin, Canada Foundation for Innovation