The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation:

Revamped Tourism Website Wins National Award

I rise in this Honourable House today to highlight the Provincial Government’s newly-designed tourism website.

We needed to update our website to keep up with new designs and technologies, and to ensure we continue to meet the demands of visitors to Newfoundland and Labrador!

I am pleased to say that NewfoundlandLabrador.com is getting a very positive response. In fact, at the Canadian e-Tourism Awards, held in March, the site was named best website out of 15 nominations from across the country including Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Travel Alberta, Tourism Quebec, and Tourism and Parks New Brunswick.

The website received the top score of 10 from the judges in all the required criteria. Carol Alderdice, chair of the Canadian e-Tourism Awards Council, was quoted as saying, “You deserve it … you won this one hands down.”

The intention of the tourism website is to communicate timely information about the province as a vacation destination and to increase the value of the website as a trip-planning tool. The site offers engaging content, a rich media experience, and motivation to travel off the beaten path in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over the past number of years the marketing of our province has been absolutely incredible, highlighting the unique aspects of Newfoundland and Labrador and attracting potential visitors from throughout the world. Whether in print, online, or on television our efforts have proven successful in making Newfoundland and Labrador a travel destination of choice.

With this recent acknowledgement from Canadian e-Tourism Awards, it is clear our innovative marketing efforts continue to pay off.

2011 05 17                                                                           1:55 p.m.