Tourism PEI and Tourism Industry Association of PEI (TIAPEI) representatives were on hand at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) Annual Meeting in Vancouver recently and were pleasantly surprised by a presentation of the "Favourite Vacation Destination" as chosen by Globe and Mail readers. Don Cudmore, Executive Director for TIAPEI, accepted the Readers Choice Award on behalf of Prince Edward Island which was chosen in 2000 as the winner of this category as well, confirming the Island's popularity with national readers.
"Those of us at the TIAC meeting from Prince Edward Island were proud to be in attendance and I was especially pleased to accept the award," noted Don Cudmore. "To win an award like this in front of a room of tourism peers always feels good as you know that everyone is keenly aware of the competitive nature of the tourism business. We proved ourselves, once again, as a vacation destination that is recognized and highly regarded."
Globe and Mail readers were asked for feedback regarding their choice of favourite vacation destination and Prince Edward Island was chosen in the Eastern Canada category. It is estimated by the paper that 2,500 customers responded either by fax or email.
"It is reassuring to know that the work that we do, promoting Prince Edward Island as the perfect vacation destination is working," noted tourism Minister Greg Deighan who was also in attendance. "The combination of great marketing and the positive experiences of those who choose PEI as their place to vacation means that we receive positive feedback as was illustrated by this readers choice award. The readers in this case are the people of Canada, coast to coast, and for two years in a row now we have come out on top. It is a great tribute to the product the Prince Edward Island tourism industry provides."