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Michelle Day Rider has a new certification that she says will help the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. (Photo: Bernitta Byrd, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden)

Nikka Yuko official earns prestigious certification

Jun 5, 2025 | 10:35 AM

The executive director of the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens is being recognized for her work.

Michelle Day Miles has achieved the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) designation from Destinations International.

It is heralded as the highest individual credential in the tourism industry, recognizing excellence in destination management leadership.

“What it does is, basically, it helps you understand how do you collaborate with stakeholders in your community to better your destination,” says Day Miles. “It also helps you understand the importance of alignment with the federal, provincial and municipal governments, the importance of investment to the community.”

Day Miles got to hear about the challenges and opportunities of different destinations, such as Edmonton, Kelowna, Boston, and Atlantic City.

The education she has received from the CDME program, she believes, will help to further grow the Japanese Gardens in the wider local tourism sector.

“That will help Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens build on to being a world-class destination. There’s things that our tourism industry can help with Nikka Yuko, that now that I’ve got the training, I can continue to help advance, such as product development,” says Day Miles.

Day Miles has been Nikka Yuko’s executive director since 2015, helping to launch popular programs like the Winter Lights Festival and year-round programming, securing the Garden’s designation as a Municipal and Provincial Historic Resource in 2017, and opening the Bunka Centre in 2022.

Dawn Sugimoto, President of the Lethbridge and District Japanese Garden Society, says it has been a privilege to work with Day Rider and see her ideas come to life.

“Our investment in her professional development is repaid many times over through her collaborative spirit, her can-do attitude, and her relationship-building which makes our tourism sector and community stronger,” says Sugimoto.

Learn more about Nikka Yuko on their website.

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