Three organizations that partnered with Learn Tourism have been named finalists for the 2027 Association for Talent Development (ATD) Excellence in Practice Awards, recognizing innovative learning programs that create measurable business impact.

The nominations celebrate learning initiatives developed in collaboration with Learn Tourism and demonstrate how strategic education can strengthen destinations, empower frontline professionals, engage tourism ambassadors, and create more welcoming visitor experiences.

The three nominated programs include:

• Travel Portland for its comprehensive destination learning initiative that equips hospitality professionals, community partners, and frontline staff with the knowledge and confidence to represent Portland authentically while fostering more inclusive and meaningful visitor experiences.
• Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau for its community-focused ambassador program that inspired residents, tourism employees, and local businesses to become knowledgeable advocates for the region through engaging, multilingual online learning.
• Visit Tulsa for its innovative workforce development program that connected tourism education with community pride, visitor service excellence, and economic development while creating an accessible learning experience for employees across the hospitality sector.

Why These Programs Were Nominated

The ATD Excellence in Practice Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate exceptional results through talent development. Rather than rewarding training for training's sake, the awards highlight programs that solve real organizational challenges through thoughtful learning design, measurable outcomes, and lasting behavioral change.

Each of these destination organizations faced unique opportunities:

• Building stronger community engagement
• Increasing destination knowledge among frontline employees
• Creating consistent visitor experiences across diverse businesses
• Making professional development accessible regardless of schedule or location
• Demonstrating measurable impact through learner engagement and analytics

Working collaboratively with Learn Tourism's instructional designers, subject matter experts, and learning strategists, each organization developed customized learning experiences aligned with its community's goals and culture.

Learning That Creates Measurable Impact

Although every destination's program was uniquely designed, several common outcomes emerged:

• Thousands of learners engaged through flexible online education
• Increased understanding of tourism's economic and community value
• Stronger confidence among frontline employees when assisting visitors
• Greater community pride and destination advocacy
• Improved collaboration between tourism organizations and local businesses
• Actionable analytics that allowed program leaders to continuously improve learning outcomes

The nominated programs also demonstrated that effective tourism education extends well beyond orientation. By combining adult learning science, engaging storytelling, localized content, and practical application, these initiatives helped participants better understand not only what makes their destination special, but why their own role matters in creating memorable visitor experiences.

Recognition for Collaborative Innovation

For Learn Tourism, these nominations represent more than industry recognition—they validate the power of collaboration between destination organizations and learning professionals.

"Every community has incredible stories to tell," said Stephen Ekstrom, CEO and Cofounder of Learn Tourism. "Our role is to help destinations transform those stories into meaningful learning experiences that inspire people to take pride in where they live, welcome visitors with confidence, and strengthen their local economies. Seeing three collaborators recognized by ATD is an incredible honor because it celebrates the dedication of the destination teams who invested in their people."

About the ATD Excellence in Practice Awards

Presented by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), the Excellence in Practice Awards are among the most respected honors in workplace learning and talent development. The awards recognize organizations worldwide that use learning to improve organizational performance, solve business challenges, and achieve measurable results.

Finalists are evaluated on innovation, execution, business impact, and evidence demonstrating that learning contributed directly to organizational success.

Building Stronger Destinations Through Learning

As a nonprofit organization, Learn Tourism partners with destinations, attractions, tourism associations, and hospitality organizations globally to develop science-based learning experiences that strengthen tourism workforces and communities.

The recognition of these three collaborators reflects a growing understanding throughout the tourism industry: investing in people is one of the most effective ways to create exceptional visitor experiences and build resilient, thriving destinations.

Congratulations to the teams at Travel Portland, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, and Visit Tulsa for this well-deserved international recognition. We are grateful to have played a role in your success and look forward to celebrating the award winners alongside you.

Learn more about Learn Tourism's destination learning programs at learntourism.org.