Tourism, Culture and Recreation
Dec. 17, 2009The following statement was given
today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Terry
French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
Tourism Marketing Efforts Recognized
Worldwide
Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House today to
speak about Newfoundland and Labrador�s tourism
marketing efforts, and the impact they are having in
this province and throughout the country.
Since 2006, the year our current tourism marketing
campaign was initiated, there have been 62 awards
presented to various aspects of the campaign. This
includes television, radio, prints ads, billboards, and
awards that recognize pure innovation and creativity in
our approach to marketing Newfoundland and Labrador as a
world class destination.
In 2007, Newfoundland and Labrador�s marketing
campaign, developed in partnership with Target Marketing
and Communications, won the Tourism Industry Association
of Canada�s Marketing Campaign of the Year Award, and we
were a finalist again in 2009 in this same category.
But Mr. Speaker, we cannot rest on our laurels. That
is why our tourism marketing campaign has evolved over
the years, with added layers and elements designed to
break into new markets, increase our presence in
traditional markets, and to take advantage of new
opportunities through social media networking, such as
Facebook, Twitter and You-tube.
We must be doing something right, Mr. Speaker,
because other jurisdictions continue to see us as
national leaders in tourism marketing, and seek to
replicate our success in the marketplace.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Mr.
Speaker, we should be quite flattered. There are
national and international destinations which are taking
our advertisements and campaign slogans and adopting
remarkably similar marketing tactics in their own
campaigns. But they can never have what we have, Mr.
Speaker � a beautiful, and truly unique travel
experience to offer visitors from around the world.
Mr. Speaker, we will stay on the cutting edge of
tourism marketing in this province. We will continue to
offer superior tourism experiences for visitors, and we
will achieve our goal � as stated in our tourism vision
Uncommon Potential � to double the economic
contribution of the tourism industry to $1.6 billion in
2020.
2009 12 17 1:50 p.m.