The Peru Gazette

Plattsburgh, NY (October 8, 2026) — The North Country Chamber of Commerce has earned a Gold Award in the 2026 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards for its “We Know Canadians As…” campaign, recognized in the Travel Destinations – Marketing – Promotions with Purpose category.

The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards are among the travel industry’s premier honors, recognizing outstanding design, marketing and services across the travel industry, including destinations, hospitality, cruise lines, airlines and airports, tour operators, travel agencies and more. The 2026 awards drew hundreds of entries from across the United States and around the world, with Gold and Silver honors recognizing work that meets Travel Weekly’s established standard of excellence.

Unlike a traditional competition in which entries are ranked directly against one another, Magellan Award entries are evaluated against a standard of excellence established by Travel Weekly and judged by a panel of accomplished travel industry professionals. Because of that standard, categories may have multiple winners or no winners at all. Travel Weekly Editor-in-Chief Johanna Jainchill said the awards annually showcase the best of travel industry creativity and innovation, highlighting fresh ideas, bold execution and work that advances expectations for great travel marketing.

For the North Country Chamber, the Gold designation represents national and international industry recognition for a campaign created during an especially challenging period for U.S.-Canada relations and cross-border travel.

The Chamber launched “We Know Canadians As…” in December 2025 with a goal that extended beyond traditional destination promotion. The campaign was designed to reinforce the longstanding personal, cultural and economic ties between the North Country and its Canadian neighbors and to make one message unmistakably clear: Canadians remain welcome in the North Country.

Through digital advertising, video, social media and other outreach, the campaign emphasized that Canadians are more than visitors to the region. They are friends, neighbors, business partners and an important part of the North Country community.

“This campaign came from a very genuine place for us,” said Garry Douglas, President and CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce. “Our relationship with Quebec and Canada goes far beyond tourism. These are relationships built over generations, and when circumstances became challenging, we felt it was important to make clear to our Canadian friends we appreciate how incredibly supportive they have been toward America and Americans, and understand how they feel. To have that message recognized with a Gold Magellan Award by leaders within the travel industry is especially gratifying.”

“We knew from the beginning that this couldn’t simply be another tourism campaign asking Canadians to come visit,” said Kristy Kennedy, Vice President of Marketing, Operations and Business Development for the North Country Chamber and Director of Tourism for the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. “We wanted it to be personal and authentic, because that reflects the actual relationship between our communities. The Gold Magellan Award is an incredible validation of that approach and of the importance of maintaining those connections even during challenging times.”

Travel Weekly is a leading provider of news, research, opinion and analysis for the North American travel trade marketplace, reaching industry professionals through print, online platforms and events. It is part of Northstar Travel Group, a global business-to-business media company serving the travel industry.