Call for Judges
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) is now accepting submissions from TIAC Members (excluding Associates) to serve as judges for TIAC’s Canadian Tourism Awards (CTAs). The CTAs are taking place at the Westin Ottawa on November 22, 2023.
Each year, TIAC, through the Canadian Tourism Awards, recognizes and celebrates the work and efforts of Canadian tourism businesses, professionals and events. This year, TIAC will celebrate achievements by offering the following prestigious awards:
- Business of the Year Award
- Business Event Award
- Employer of the Year Award
- Employee of the Year Award
- Indigenous Tourism Award
- Innovator of the Year Award
- Sustainable Tourism Award
- Small or Medium-Sized Business of the Year Award
- Travel Media Professional of the Year Award
- Culinary Tourism Experience Award
Why judge the Canadian Tourism Awards?
In addition to the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the Canadian tourism and travel industry, becoming a judge means so much more. You will:
- Increase your profile within the industry
- Be identified as a judge on the website (headshot and profile required)
- Your involvement and contributions will be acknowledged
- Learn and be inspired by new ideas, innovations and solutions shared in the nomination forms
Who can judge?
Whether you are a tour operator, hotel manager, chef, bus driver, waiter, spa owner, pilot or a travel writer, your experience and expertise are wanted. Applicants must be a TIAC member in good standing and have at least 5 years of experience working in the tourism and travel industry.
We welcome applicants from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Individuals who identify as women, Black, Indigenous and Persons of Colour (IBPoC), persons from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
It is important for us to have a diverse group of judges to ensure the success of the awards program and to create a welcoming environment that reflects the diversity of our industry. The panel will include nine judges, ideally from all across Canada.
How judging works
The Canadian Tourism Awards are now open with judging to take place in late August/early September. TIAC will be accepting judge applicants up to August 15, 2023.
TIAC will advise of judge selection by August 25. After award entries close the judging process will begin immediately after. Once final submissions are approved, each judge is assigned a category and will have a period of two weeks to score submissions. The judging process takes places online using an award platform. Last year our award judges spent an average of 60 minutes on each nomination over a two week period of judging.
What TIAC's 2022 Judges Had to Say
“The best part about judging the 2022 Canadian Tourism Awards was learning about all the great work our industry is doing. Canada is full of so many passionate, hard-working people.” - Lauren
“My head is still spinning from the amazing nominations we received. They were all were award-worthy but some were so compelling they made me want to take a road trip to visit!” - Anne
“Acting as a judge for the Canadian Tourism Awards was such a rewarding experience! It was a great opportunity to not only learn about the latest innovations in our industry but to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our tourism colleagues. I was blown away by the number of projects demonstrating the resilience, passion and creativity of the tourism industry. The most difficult part was trying to choose just one winner!” - Mary
Questions?
For more information, please contact Sarah Gay, Event Manager, at sgay@tiac-aitc.ca