SHERBROOKE: Destination Sherbrooke and Commerce Sherbrooke proudly announced that over 2,100 participants took part in the Sherbrooke 2013 & Co. Welcoming Program. By exceeding its objectives, set at 2,000 participants, merchants and persons engaged in tourism activities showed their interest in warmly welcoming visitors from across Canada during the country's largest multi-sports competition.

A genuine mobilizing project for merchants from Sherbrooke, Coaticook and Magog, the Sherbrooke 2013 & Co. Welcoming Program is a vast awareness campaign in tourism hospitality.In total, 2,173 persons took part in workshops offered within this program. When it comes time to welcome visitors, the entire community needs to be made aware of its role in terms of hospitality. From police officers to taxi or bus drivers, from merchants and bike patrol officers to persons engaged in tourism activities, front-line stakeholders are true ambassadors for the region.

"We are extremely pleased with these results that exceed our expectations," indicated Hélène Vandenberghe, Director of Customer Experience at Destination Sherbrooke. "With this program, participants have been made aware of the importance of their role in terms of hospitality. Their know-how and people skills are fundamental values in a tourism event's organizational chain."

As well as offering tailored awareness workshops, the Sherbrooke 2013 & Co. Welcoming Program encouraged merchants to mobilize around the Canada Games. Indeed, many of them chose to make the event their own by showing their colours. "We're happy to see that the Games served as the spark for a truly unifying project for the region's business and tourism community," emphasized Lynn Blouin, Assistant General Director – Communications and Human Resources for the Canada Summer Games – Sherbrooke 2013.

To achieve such an outcome, Destination Sherbrooke and Commerce Sherbrooke relied on the collaboration of helpful partners, such as Emploi Québec, the Cégep de Sherbrooke's Centre de formation continue, the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme (CQRHT), the Canada Summer Games - Sherbrooke 2013 organization, the Corporation de développement économique communautaire de Sherbrooke (CDEC), the Memphremagog and Coaticook CLDs, as well as the Sherbrooke and Fleurimont Chambers of Commerce.

As an organization responsible for the City of Sherbrooke's promotion and the sustainable development of recreational tourism, Destination Sherbrooke helps implement conditions that promote the expansion of the tourism industry and the valorization of its territories.