Stampede Park will host the world May 9 to 13 when over 1,400 delegates gather for Rendez-vous Canada 2009, Canada’s premier international tourism industry marketplace.

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) event brings together international travel buyers and Canadian travel destinations to do business through one-on-one appointments, showcase events and trade show displays.

“The tourism product managers at Rendez-vous are ultimately the decision-makers who choose what products they will include and promote in their brochures and packages,” says Lindsay Jardine, Stampede tourism sales manager. “This is a golden opportunity for attractions such as the Stampede to showcase their product.”

That showcase really comes to life during Alberta night when delegates experience Stampede rodeo up close and personal at a 45-minute “demonstration” rodeo.

The real business of Rendez-vous Canada happens in the contract marketplace, says Jardine. Over the four-day event, buyers and sellers come together through pre-scheduled, computerized 12-minute appointments. About 21,000 such appointments are pre-scheduled.

The event is one of several CTC events that provide value for the tourism attractions such as the Calgary Stampede and support Canada’s $71 billion travel industry, explains Jardine.

She noted that the CTC’s recent Media Marketplace in New York City helped promote the Stampede to travel writers from around the world. At the event, writer Helen Anders, a journalist from the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, accepted an international award for her article, “Ride'em cowboy in Canada? Yes, That’s Calgary For You,” describing western culture in Alberta and spotlighting the Calgary Stampede.

That’s the type of publicity that brings visitors to Alberta and the Calgary Stampede, says Jardine.