The Island’s delicious food, beautiful coastal scenery, world class golf, and unique culture will be on full display as the province ramps up its efforts to maintain energy and momentum in the tourism industry after record years in 2014 and 2015, says Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Heath MacDonald.
“The 2016 marketing campaign will focus on what makes Prince Edward Island a unique destination for visitors,” said Minister MacDonald. “It will highlight the Island’s fresh and delicious food, its unsurpassed coastal scenery, and its people, whose culture and way of life makes the Island truly unique among tourism destinations worldwide. We collaborated very closely with industry organizations who represent tourism operators across the province on the formation of our marketing plan and I am very thankful for their much needed input, support and guidance.”
The theme for this year’s campaign will be “True Island Flavour”.
“Our theme in 2016 plays on the word flavor by demonstrating the Island’s unique title as Canada’s Food Island,” said the Director of Marketing for Tourism PEI Brenda Gallant. “It’s not only the flavor of the food, but the flavour of our people, our unique experiences and our one of a kind Island culture. That truly separates the Island from other destinations. There is no culture quite like Island culture, with our music, storytelling and way of life, and that will be a key theme as we work to maintain the momentum we’ve seen over the last two years.”
Industry associations including Meetings and Conventions PEI, the Hotel and Motel Association, the Food Island Partnership, Golf PEI, TIAPEI and regional tourism associations, which represent individual operators from across the province, collaborated closely with Tourism PEI on the campaign and endorse the plan.
“The True Island Flavour campaign will be an exclusive marketing plan that will showcase what Prince Edward Island has to offer,” said the Executive Director of TIAPEI Kevin Mouflier. “We are confident this upcoming tourism season will continue the momentum we have seen in the past years, especially with the True Island Flavour campaign promoting Canada’s Food Island. We cannot wait to share our astounding cuisine, scenery and culture with visitors from around the world this season.”
The campaign will target the couples over forty and family markets. There will also be a special emphasis on millenials in this year’s marketing plan. Recent trends across Canada show young people aged 18 to 34 are traveling with greater regularity. The province is working closely with Destination Canada on a plan to better reach that market.
Ask an Islander, a successful promotion from last year that saw well known Islanders directly answer questions from prospective visitors will be enhanced and repeated again this year.
A greater emphasis will also be placed on package deals in 2016 after the success of events and promotions like the Fall Flavours Festival, The Vacation the Kids Took Over, 30 Days of Awesome and individual themed package offerings put together by individual operators. Pre-packaged offerings are seeing increasing interest from potential travelers and there is an opportunity for further growth in that section of the market.
Tourism PEI has also made improvements to its website that make it more responsive to new technology, and more visually appealing ahead of the 2016 season.
Tourism is a vital industry in Prince Edward Island that provides over 7,000 full time equivalent jobs for Islanders. It accounts for approximately $400 million in economic activity each year and seven per cent of GDP, the highest percentage of any Canadian province.