Customer service: It's a phrase that's often tossed around somewhat casually in today's business environment.

But when Kathy Barnett assures you that the highly skilled, specialized staff and management of the Toronto Convention & Visitors Association take particular pride in their high service standards, you can take her word to the bank.

Such rarified standards of service also represent the No. 1 reason why visitors to Canada's largest and most dynamically attractive event, conference and convention destination generally come back for more. They also explain why North American meeting and event planners have ranked Tourism Toronto as the third-best service provider in North America.

"We basically take all the hassle out of planning a meeting," says Barnett, the bureau's director of marketing and advertising.

The downtown Toronto skyline as seen from Toronto Island.

"We work hard to take care of all the behind-the-scenes incidentals that make the person who's planning the meeting look good."

Truth is, Tourism Toronto can be relied upon to lay an exceptional amount of useful groundwork, long before your incoming delegates or conventioneers set foot in Canada's beautiful and thriving cultural capital.

This talented and pro-active team will:

* Arrange for suitable meeting, convention or trade show space in the Toronto Convention Centre, the National Trade Centre, the Congress Centre or the International Centre - each a world-class facility. Or perhaps you'd prefer a more intimate setting, one of the city's numerous four-star hotels, for example. In any case, the choice is wide open, whatever your needs, wishes and wants. Toronto boasts a total of 2.5 million sq. ft. of prime meeting and conference space, including downtown locales as well as suburban facilities close to Lester B. Pearson International Airport.

(Want to set up a theatre-style event or a trade show at the Air Canada Centre? Tourism Toronto can make it happen.)

* Arrange for accommodation for every member of your group, whether it numbers 60 or 60,000;

* Honour an enormous range of special requests;

* Provide helpful and useful liaison services with Canada Customs for groups travelling to Toronto from the U.S. and other offshore departure points;

* Play host to pre-meeting on-site inspections, free of charge;

* Recommend and arrange bookings for any number of tourist-related attractions, dining and entertainment options available on the hospitable shores of Lake Ontario.

"We're available to do a significant amount of this kind of work on their behalf, at no extra cost to our visitors," Barnett explains. "That frees up their time to allow for more in-depth planning of their event. We want to be part of their team."

In many ways, the easiest part of Barnett's job is selling potential visitors on Toronto's allure as a destination.

Ideally situated within hailing distance of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, the city is only 90 minutes by air for more than 60 per cent of the U.S. population. Meeting planners know their delegates can travel to Toronto swiftly, safely and with a minimum of fuss. And Tourism Toronto's liaison team helps smooth any bumps in the road by working closely with Canada Customs officials long before visitors arrive.

And when delegates do touch down, they're frequently dazzled by the intimate and personal touches Tourism Toronto has arranged in their honour. When corporate guests representing Microsoft Corp. arrived last year, they were greeted by colourful "Welcome Microsoft" banners in the airport, along area highways and down city streets.

"We do everything we can to make our guests feel at home," says Barnett. "We're not just about closing the sale and getting them here.

"It's very important to us to provide them with the best experience they've ever had," she adds.

"Because, frankly, we want them to come back."

What else is there to say about Toronto as a destination? Plenty.

Residents of this majestic and vibrant lakeside city realize that the attractions of their home town may be something of a well-kept secret in some circles.

In response, they shrug and say: "To know us is to love us."

It's true. Once visitors have sampled Toronto, they're hooked. For life.

For entertainment, recreation and exquisite dining, few places on the planet can offer more.

Restaurants? Toronto is home to more than 7,000 first-class restaurants, representing an astonishing 100-plus ethnic cuisines. Shopping? It's unparallelled, from boutiques to malls, from gallerias to big-box outlets.

Tourist attractions? More than 80 bona fide gems can be found in the Greater Toronto Area. The CN Tower is one of the first - and most eye-catching - sights you'll spot as your flight circles the city on your way in. A shortlist that includes the Historical Museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) barely scratches the surface.

And if live theatre is your passion, you've simply got to plan a visit. After London and New York, Toronto is the world's liveliest theatrical centre with at least a dozen stage shows in performance at any one time, 365 days a year.

"The sheer variety of things to do in this city is truly remarkable," Barnett sums up.

Try Toronto. You will never regret it. Nor will you forget it.

Kathy Barnett urges planners and other interested parties to visit Tourism Toronto's information-packed website (www.torontotourism.com).

For inquiries and conference booking information, please call 1.800.363.1990 (toll-free).

Or contact Robert Kawamoto, Regional Director of Sales, at 416.203.3810 or e-mail rkawamoto@torcvb.com