The Spirit Awards receives Industry Award for Recognition of Hospitality Ambassadors in the GTA

TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) recently awarded The Greater Toronto Hotel Association (GTHA)'s The Spirit Awards with its Employee Attraction and Retention Award at the 2013 Ontario Tourism Summit in Toronto, Ontario.  The award recognizes an innovative approach to staff recruitment, best practices in human resources that have a positive impact on the bottom line, and has a positive impact on visitor satisfaction and visitor spending.

GTHA's inaugural The Spirit Awards was held on April 27, 2012 and welcomed 350 nominees, hotel owners, General Managers and industry sponsors. The event has been awarded the Employee Attraction and Retention Award for providing the support and drive behind customer service excellence for the hotel community across the Greater Toronto Area. This event provides an industry benchmark for current and future hospitality employees while improving morale amongst the industry and higher internal customer service standards.

The Spirit Awards has become an annual event honouring the service, professionalism and innovation of outstanding ambassadors in the hotel industry of the Greater Toronto Area. The event's focus is to recognize and show appreciation to the front line and "heart of the house" staff for their "Spirit" and service to guests.

The Spirit Awards' success is in its numbers: 150 ambassadors nominated; 1898 years of combined service in the industry; 14% year over year increase in attendance.

The Ontario Tourism Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, which is a key contributor to Ontario's economic prosperity. Nominations were open to all individuals in the tourism industry operating in Ontario and were judged by an independent, third-party panel of industry experts.

Quotes

"The Spirit Awards celebrate the great people helping to grow the tourism industry overall who welcome visitors to Toronto every day. Congratulations to the Greater Toronto Hotel Association on this initiative."

Beth Potter, President & CEO
Tourism Industry Association of Ontario

Quick Facts:

• Tourism is an important part of Ontario's economy, supporting over 300,000 jobs, according to preliminary numbers.
• According to preliminary results, visits to Ontario increased by 1.4 per cent to 105.2 million for the year 2011 over 2010.
• Preliminary results show that tourism receipts increased by 4.8 per cent in 2011 to over $23 billion.

Learn more:

Tourism Industry Association of Ontario - www.tiaontario.ca

Ontario Tourism Summit - www.ontariotourismsummit.com

Greater Toronto Hotel Association - www.gtha.com

SOURCE: Tourism Industry Association of Ontario

Catarina Cunha
Executive Assistant
TIAO
416.483.1691
[email protected]