Provincial Tourism Minister Greg Deighan unveiled his Department's plans for 2001 at a news conference in Charlottetown today.
Mr. Deighan presented details of Tourism PEI's strategy for the year ahead. He explained that his Department will continue to focus on the Island's primary markets of the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and New England.
"Our emphasis will be on regaining market share in our traditional markets. We will continue to promote the Island as a great vacation destination," said Mr. Deighan.
The strategy outlined by Minister Deighan contains a number of new initiatives such as the Tourism Development Fund - a program to support the development of new tourism products; Reunion Program - assistance will be provided to encourage Islanders to organize family, school and other reunions; Tour the Island - a special promotion to encourage visitors to explore the Island.
The Minister said that several other programs offered by Tourism PEI will be continued in 2001 including the popular Island Welcome Centre program that was established two years ago as a pilot project. This program provides support for Island communities to establish local visitor information centres. The Department will also continue to provide support to festivals and events targets to the tourism market.
Mr. Deighan said that the future of PEI's tourism depends on a strong partnership between industry and government. He explained that Tourism PEI relies on numerous partnerships to achieve its development and marketing objectives. "We partner with Festival and Events PEI, Golf PEI, the PEI Capital Commission and Signature Vacations, to name but a few, and our participation in the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership helps us in achieving the goal of increasing the economic value of tourism to this province," said Mr. Deighan.
The 2001 PEI Visitors Guide was released by the Minister. Mr. Deighan explained that the 2001 Tourism Marketing Plan will be presented in detail on March 6 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. "On that occasion we will present the Tourism Marketing Authority plan for this year and provide details on the creative that will be used this year along with special promotions that are planned," said Mr. Deighan. The Tourism Marketing Authority represents another partnership between government and the Islands tourism industry. The Tourism Marketing Authority is comprised of tourism operators from across the Island who provide direction on the development of the Island's annual tourism marketing plan.