The creation of Atlantic Canada House as the region’s showcase for Atlantic culture and cuisine at the 2010 Olympics was a success on many levels, says Minister of Tourism and Culture Robert Vessey.
“I am very proud that our pavilion was selected as a gold medal winner by the Vancouver media, but I am even happier with our success in making the Atlantic region known to visitors at the Olympics and around the world,” said Minister Vessey. “This is an investment that will pay off for the region for years to come.”
Minister Vessey shared the success of Prince Edward Island’s collaborative approach to Atlantic Canada House at a meeting of Canada’s ministers of tourism and culture this week in St. John’s.
The Atlantic Canada House pavilion was a joint project of the four Atlantic Provinces with the participation of the Government of Canada through ACOA. Prince Edward Island’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Culture chaired the Atlantic Canada House secretariat, which was coordinated by the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Mr. Vessey showed the ministers a video presentation that captured the excitement of Atlantic Canada House. With much of the agenda dedicated to cultural tourism, Mr. Vessey highlighted the province’s participation in this growing area, and the benefits of integrating tourism and culture in one government department.
Ministers discussed the upcoming 150th Anniversary of Confederation in 2017, and agreed that the anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference in 2014 would also be a significant event in Canadian history that should be recognized at the national level.
The ministers renewed their commitment to a collaborative cultural tourism research and development process.
“This is an area we have fully embraced in Prince Edward Island, and we are always interested in learning more about new developments and sharing success stories,” said Minister Vessey.
Yukon extended an invitation to the ministers to meet in Canada’s north for their next conference.
The video presented to the ministers can be seen on the Government of Prince Edward Island website at www.gov.pe.ca/tourism/achvideo.