Press Release: The Atikokan Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) won a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for Naturally Wild: Tourism Atikokan – www.VisitAitkokan.com website, a project in the category of Special Purpose Website of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 19, during the IEDC Annual Conference, which was held Sept. 17-20, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
“On behalf of the IEDC board of directors and Excellence in Economic Development Awards Advisory Committee, congratulations to the Atikokan Economic Development Corporation. Not only did they work to provide a necessary service to their community; but also, their participation in the awards program sheds light on their stellar projects which other communities can now use as a benchmark.” – Michael Langley, FM, CEO of GREATER MSP, Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN, and 2017 IEDC Board Chair
Naturally Wild: Tourism Atikokan is a pilot project created AEDC and in partnership with the Town of Atikokan and Tourism Northern Ontario. The overall objective for the project is to help increase tourism revenues and community brand awareness through product development, marketing, workforce development and regional collaboration. AEDC has taken on a principal role of tourism development due to their relationship with those on both the for-profit and the government officers in the field, on the local, regional, provincial, national and international levels.
This is Atikokan’s first foray into tourism as an economic development tool in over 30 years, and www.VisitAtikokan.com is the flagship piece of Tourism Atikokan, one of six projects developed under the program and a major piece of its social media strategy. This project is meant to bring a focused approach to developing, building, implementation and eventual sustainable marketing of tourism opportunities in Atikokan and its service area, and also serves as an investment/community attraction tool for industrial employers.
“The awards process is a thorough, non-biased and multi-layered process. These are extraordinary accomplishments for all winners, and an overall great effort by all participants. We look forward to next year’s awards competition,” Langley said.