St. John’s will welcome tourism partners from around the world as Atlantic Canada Showcase (ACS) 2012 begins at the St. John’s Convention Centre next week.
ACS is a buyer-seated marketplace designed especially for the motorcoach, group, F.I.T. and specialty travel industry. This biennial event will be hosted in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador from September 30 to October 2, 2012. The event schedule entails three impactful days of meetings, networking events and sessions that will allow international buyers and sellers an opportunity to experience and meet with tourism product and service providers from all four Atlantic Provinces.
As an initiative of the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and all ACS event supporters are paramount in making this event a success.
The ACS event, which rotates throughout the Atlantic Provinces was last held in Nova Scotia in 2010 and hosted 49 buyers and 103 sellers of tourism, products and services from around the world. A committee comprised of private and public representatives from all four Atlantic Provinces have been working diligently to ensure that the 2012 event surpasses all expectations.
“The Atlantic Canada Showcase is an excellent opportunity for the province to meet face-to-face with international tour operators and show them all that Prince Edward Island has to offer from a tourism perspective, be it golf, beaches, our world class cuisine, or the upcoming 2014 celebrations,” said the Honourable Robert Henderson, Minister of Tourism and Culture. “The tour market is very important to the Island because it provides a base of pre-booked business for our operators.”
The cornerstone of the ACS event is the ACS Marketplace, a series of pre-scheduled, timed meetings that provide buyers and sellers an opportunity to meet to discuss potential business partnerships. The business environment is complemented with a number of social networking events. Such events showcase the unique attributes of each Atlantic Province and are hosted in some of St. John’s most notable venues with the grand finale, Atlantic Canada Night, taking place on the final evening of the event.
"Seeing is believing, and seeing Atlantic Canada’s product is the best way for tour operators to appreciate all that we have offer to their customers,” said Elaine Thomson, President of the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island. “I am confident that once these tour operators learn more about our region, they will be interested in selling Atlantic Canada to their customer base.”
For more information on Atlantic Canada Showcase 2012 please visit, www.atlanticcanadashowcase.com.
Atlantic Canada Supporters
This project has been made possible through funding provided by the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership (ACTP). ACTP is a nine member pan-Atlantic partnership comprised of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the four Atlantic Canada Tourism Industry Associations, and the four Provincial Departments responsible for tourism.
Platinum Signature Sponsor
Fortis Properties
Gold Sponsors
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, NL
Department of Culture, Tourism and Healthy Living, NB
Prince Edward Island 2014 Celebrations Inc.
Silver Sponsors
Destination St. John’s
Discover Saint John
Destination Cape Breton
Elite Productions
The Rooms, NL
Bronze Sponsors
D.P. Murphy Hotels & Resorts
Destination Halifax
Group Travel Planner – TC Media
Maxxim Vacations
Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development & Tourism
Parsons and Sons Transportation Inc.
Hillview Terrace Suites
Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador