Whistler Arts Council

The Whistler Arts Council and Whistler Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the 7^th Annual Whistler Business and the Arts Award. The award recognizes and honours a local business or individual business leader for significant impact on/or contribution to Whistler’s arts and culture community. The recipient individual or company will be announced at the September 2010 Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The award recognizes a local business for their support of local arts and heritage events and programs in the last calendar year. Support would have been given through sponsorship, volunteerism, professional services or products, marketing or public relations donations, or business leadership that demonstrated support for the arts above and beyond the basic commercial benefits. The recipient will be chosen from a number of businesses nominated by the arts, culture and heritage organizations of Whistler.

Past recipients of the Whistler Business and the Arts Award:

Chamber of Commerce Luncheon 2010

This year's recipient of the Business and the Arts Award will be announced at a luncheon held on Sept 22, 11:45 am-1:30 pm at Woodlands Terrace at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler.  In addition, at this year's Chamber of Commerce Luncheon we are pleased to present keynote speaker Steven Thorne: a leading specialist in the field of cultural tourism, a fast-growing and lucrative segment of North America’s tourism industry. In June of this year, RMOW contracted Steven Thorne Consulting to develop a cultural tourism plan for Whistler. At the luncheon, Steven Thorne will offer Whistler’s business community a preview of his forthcoming report.

Did you know?…

• In Canada, the number of domestic trips that include historic sites, or plays or concerts, or museums or galleries, far exceeds the number of trips that spectator sports, or golfing, or canoeing and kayaking, or cycling, or downhill skiing, or snowboarding
• 12 percent of Canadians who traveled in the past two years report that dining at high-end restaurants with an international reputation was the main purpose of at least one trip
• In the United States, 14 percent of America’s leisure travelers are “Passionate Cultural/Heritage Travelers” who actively seek cultural experiences
• In 2009, total trip spending by America’s Passionate Cultural/Heritage Travelers totalled $43 billion

Come and hear Steven’s thoughts on how Whistler can capitalize on its arts, heritage and culinary assets, develop a cultural tourism industry, and build a cultural tourism economy!

For Steven Thorne's bio, please click here.