Canadian Tulip Festival Executive Director Jo Riding Invited to The Hague, Netherlands to Receive Award at World Tulip Summit

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands invited Canadian Tulip Festival Executive Director Jo Riding to her home, beside Het Loo Palace, on October 17th. She extended the invitation after learning Riding was invited to accept an award, and be a panelist, at the World Tulip Summit in The Hague, Netherlands the previous day, on October 16th. The 9th World Tulip Summit, October 16th-18th, is a premier event dedicated to enhancing the tulip visitor experience while developing innovative promotion strategies. Participants gain insights, fresh ideas, and new contacts, empowering them to elevate tulip attractions and visitor engagement. The Canadian Tulip Festival is receiving the Heritage Entertainment Award. Says Riding, “I am thrilled to take Ottawa’s tourism initiatives to a world stage. Since taking over the festival we have successfully reduced previous debt and struggled with the uncertainty of government funding. We have been innovative and vocal while developing tourism. With almost half a million visitsin 2024, we humbly believe we’re onto something!”   Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi says, “I am delighted participants at the World Tulip Summit want to hear about what is happening in our city! When we look at the statistics, we know 469,000 people were attracted to the Capital from near and far. As tourism is a key economic driver in Ottawa, that’s really important for our local economy.” In celebration, Riding will also host an Ottawa invite-only event in November in partnership with the Ingenium Foundation where friends of the festival will enjoy a unique backstage tour of some of Canada’s most impressive collections, including pieces from Canadian brothers and legends Yousef Karsh and Festival Founder, Malak Karsh. Ibo Gülsen, World Tulip Summit Chair says, "It is a true pleasure to award the Canadian Tulip Festival the Heritage Entertainment Award at this year's World Tulip Summit. The festival's obvious dedication to education and entertainment has resulted in outstanding world-class productions that tell the real stories of Canadian heroes, honouring their sacrifice in the liberation of the Netherlands and the reason Ottawa is the tulip capital of Canada." The Canadian Tulip Festival is Ottawa’s longest running festival and generates $58 million in economic benefit locally according to Ontario’s Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model.  Advertising for the event was seen by almost 3 million Canadians.