Post by ocelot on Jul 9, 2009 18:06:18 GMT -5
Lake Louise photo blooper on U.S. Senate site
CBC News
A U.S. Senate committee has removed a photograph from its website after it was discovered the mountain vista displayed for almost three years wasn't of their country — but of Lake Louise in Alberta.
The Senate environment and public works committee had been using a picture of Lake Louise in Banff National Park in a banner image on its website since December 2006.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently spotted the error and tipped off some of the U.S. media.
Washington Post columnist Al Kamen blogged about the gaffe on Wednesday.
"Senators wanted to be sure Americans don't forget the glories of … the Rockies, the chamber told us by email," Kamen wrote. "The committee's home page featured a beckoning photo of a spectacular vista in that mountain range. One problem, though: It was of Lake Louise, which happens to be in the Canadian Rockies."
The photo of the snowcapped mountains and azure waters was a placeholder picture provided by a vendor when the site was overhauled in 2006, a Republican spokesperson told the Post.
The website made no indication of the location depicted in the photo, which was removed after the error was spotted.
The picture was one that has been used for decades in promotional material, Lori Bayne, spokeswoman for Banff Lake Louise Tourism, told The Canadian Press.
The picturesque Lake Louise is distinctive in the photograph because the Canadian Rockies are extremely craggy, while their American cousins are not as dramatic, she said.
Bayne said the tourism group isn't overly concerned the Senate committee didn't properly identify the image.
The subsequent attention to the mistake could be a potential marketing opportunity to boost tourism to the region, which already receives about 16,000 visitors daily, Bayne said.
"We welcome U.S. visitors to Canada, as I don't see any negative aspects to this — other than it would have been nice of them to identify it as being Lake Louise," Bayne told The Canadian Press.
The U.S. error comes after Alberta was criticized for using a picture of a British beach as part of a $25-million tourism campaign in April.
The province apologized for using the picture of two blond children running down a beach in England's Northumberland region.
"We screwed up.… We're sorry," a provincial public relations spokesman said in a written apology.
www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/07/09/us-senate-website-lake-louise-photo460.html
CBC News
A U.S. Senate committee has removed a photograph from its website after it was discovered the mountain vista displayed for almost three years wasn't of their country — but of Lake Louise in Alberta.
The Senate environment and public works committee had been using a picture of Lake Louise in Banff National Park in a banner image on its website since December 2006.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently spotted the error and tipped off some of the U.S. media.
Washington Post columnist Al Kamen blogged about the gaffe on Wednesday.
"Senators wanted to be sure Americans don't forget the glories of … the Rockies, the chamber told us by email," Kamen wrote. "The committee's home page featured a beckoning photo of a spectacular vista in that mountain range. One problem, though: It was of Lake Louise, which happens to be in the Canadian Rockies."
The photo of the snowcapped mountains and azure waters was a placeholder picture provided by a vendor when the site was overhauled in 2006, a Republican spokesperson told the Post.
The website made no indication of the location depicted in the photo, which was removed after the error was spotted.
The picture was one that has been used for decades in promotional material, Lori Bayne, spokeswoman for Banff Lake Louise Tourism, told The Canadian Press.
The picturesque Lake Louise is distinctive in the photograph because the Canadian Rockies are extremely craggy, while their American cousins are not as dramatic, she said.
Bayne said the tourism group isn't overly concerned the Senate committee didn't properly identify the image.
The subsequent attention to the mistake could be a potential marketing opportunity to boost tourism to the region, which already receives about 16,000 visitors daily, Bayne said.
"We welcome U.S. visitors to Canada, as I don't see any negative aspects to this — other than it would have been nice of them to identify it as being Lake Louise," Bayne told The Canadian Press.
The U.S. error comes after Alberta was criticized for using a picture of a British beach as part of a $25-million tourism campaign in April.
The province apologized for using the picture of two blond children running down a beach in England's Northumberland region.
"We screwed up.… We're sorry," a provincial public relations spokesman said in a written apology.
www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/07/09/us-senate-website-lake-louise-photo460.html