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"Tourism Ambassador of the Year" Announced by Seattle's Tourism Industry
May 12, 2009
SEATTLE, WASH. — Seattle's tourism industry presented today its 2009 Tourism Ambassador of the Year award to Justin Hall, a popular, long-time fishmonger at Pike Place Fish Market. Hall, who has served during the past year as one of the featured "Tourism Ambassadors" for the Why Tourism Matters community outreach campaign, is the first recipient of this new annual award.
The award was presented by Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau on behalf of the tourism industry today at 12:30 p.m. in Westlake Park during the Tourism Day in Seattle Rally, held to commemorate National Travel and Tourism Week.
Hall was selected by a regional judging committee that represented a cross section of the tourism industry – from hotels to airlines, attractions and other tourism businesses. Judges reviewed nominees who displayed or embodied the following attributes and actions:
- Maintain direct contact with visitors and regularly go above and beyond to serve and assist them
- Represent the tourism industry with the highest professional standards and serve as an example to peers and a mentor to new tourism industry professionals
- Proudly proclaim tourism's benefits and serve as an advocate to advance the industry
- Give back to community on behalf of the tourism industry
Hall's job as fishmonger at the venerable Pike Place Fish Market is his one and only. He began at the age of 13, more than 23 years ago. He was one of the original "Tourism Ambassadors" selected for the Why Tourism Matters public outreach campaign which showcases real tourism professionals from the industry's front lines. Since Seattle's Convention
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and Visitors Bureau inaugurated the campaign last year, Hall's photos and interviews have become familiar to Seattle citizens as they've appeared in newspaper and magazine ads, editorial stories, on web sites, posters and even in store windows in downtown Seattle.
"Justin accepted the role of Tourism Ambassador immediately," said Tom Norwalk, President & CEO of Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau. "In retrospect, that's not surprising because Justin serves as an ambassador to tourists every day. He not only sells fish, he teaches about fresh Northwest seafood, provides directions and sightseeing tips and goes out of his way to welcome visitors to our city and region. Justin was a Tourism Ambassador before we invented the term!"
"I want to be a tourist, so I just imagine that I'm them," said Hall when he accepted the award. "I just treat people like they want to be treated. Tourism is not a thing. It's the way you live. It's about picking up garbage on the streets so your city looks great. It's about helping that person who looks lost. It's about being a good person."
To learn more about the Why Tourism Matters campaign, visit www.whytourismmatters.com.
Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau is a non-profit economic development agency responsible for competitively marketing Seattle as a destination for meeting and convention groups and leisure travelers. As a membership-based organization, SCVB connects more than 800 local businesses with the lucrative visitor market. Some 9.5 million visitors spend $5.16 billion in Seattle and King County annually, contributing $468 million in state and local tax revenues. Direct visitor spending benefits hotels, retailers, restaurants, attractions, transportation services and other businesses, and supports jobs for more than 63,000 people in the Seattle region.
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