Rocky Mountaineer Vacations is the 2006 recipient of the "Employees First Award" presented by go2, the BC tourism industry’s human resources agency. They offer year-round vacation packages to the most unique regions of Canada. Since its inception in 1990, the Vancouver-based company has grown to become the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and has hosted over 800,000 guests from around the world.
The award was presented at the seventh annual BC Tourism Awards gala, held recently in Penticton as part of the provincial tourism industry conference. The "Employees First Award" is presented each year to an employer in BC’s tourism industry for its gold standard in human resource management.
"We are extremely honoured to have been selected as this year’s winner of the Employees First Award," said Paul Dyck, Vice President, Human Resources for Rocky Mountaineer Vacations. "We believe that the calibre of our 'internal guests' employment experience should be equal to that of our external guests."
All nominees for the "Employees First Award" had to submit an information package that demonstrated how their company has implemented effective HR/people management practices within their organization. Additionally, nominees had to show how these HR practices have positively impacted employee development, loyalty, morale, and their organization’s bottom line. For selection, a panel designated by Tourism British Columbia judged the nominees against the criteria.
"With an open-door management style and educational sponsorships, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations is an excellent example of a company committed to training and empowering their employees," said Arlene Keis, CEO of go2. "As a result they are able to retain employees longer, their employees are able to work to their full potential, and the company is ultimately able to achieve their business objectives."
In November 2005 Rocky Mountaineer Vacations won the prestigious World Travel Award as the "World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train." The 12th annual World Travel Awards were held in London's Royal Opera House and were attended by over 2000 tourism industry leaders from across the globe.
