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Why is it that no one wants to go to or live in Edmonton?
Free trip to Edmonton considered no prize
UPDATED: 2006-07-13 03:30:29 MST
By FRANK LANDRY, SUN MEDIA
EDMONTON -- Turns out Chris Pronger isn't the only person who doesn't want anything to do with Edmonton.
City officials found that out the hard way this week, when they struggled to find three randomly selected Canadians willing to accept a free vacation there.
City staff had to offer the trip to 25 people before they could find three takers, admitted city spokesman Robert Moyles.
"The biggest problem we had was to most people, this sounded too good to be true," Moyles said yesterday. "People have been taught to be wary of free offers for trips."
The national contest was part of a $50,000 marketing ploy to attract attention to E-Town.
Scott Hennig, Alberta spokesman for the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, said the whole promotion was a bad idea -- and a waste of money.
"This is just embarrassing for the city -- that they had to call 25 people before anyone would accept," he said.
The three winners get to bring a friend along to the Capital Ex, the Folk Music Festival or the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix of Edmonton Presented By The Brick.
Each pair will be put up in a hotel for two nights, fed and shuttled around Edmonton.
"In the end, no one didn't come because they didn't believe it," Moyles said. "They all had different challenges."
Some people didn't like to fly, he said.
UPDATED: 2006-07-13 03:30:29 MST
By FRANK LANDRY, SUN MEDIA
EDMONTON -- Turns out Chris Pronger isn't the only person who doesn't want anything to do with Edmonton.
City officials found that out the hard way this week, when they struggled to find three randomly selected Canadians willing to accept a free vacation there.
City staff had to offer the trip to 25 people before they could find three takers, admitted city spokesman Robert Moyles.
"The biggest problem we had was to most people, this sounded too good to be true," Moyles said yesterday. "People have been taught to be wary of free offers for trips."
The national contest was part of a $50,000 marketing ploy to attract attention to E-Town.
Scott Hennig, Alberta spokesman for the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, said the whole promotion was a bad idea -- and a waste of money.
"This is just embarrassing for the city -- that they had to call 25 people before anyone would accept," he said.
The three winners get to bring a friend along to the Capital Ex, the Folk Music Festival or the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix of Edmonton Presented By The Brick.
Each pair will be put up in a hotel for two nights, fed and shuttled around Edmonton.
"In the end, no one didn't come because they didn't believe it," Moyles said. "They all had different challenges."
Some people didn't like to fly, he said.
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