May 12, 1998
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

The following statement was issued today by Sandra Kelly, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Newfoundland and Labrador is continuing to evolve into oneof the world's most sought-after travel destinations, and this fact was never more evident than at last week's Media Marketplace in Toronto.

The Media Marketplace is organized by the Canadian Tourism Commission, and is one of North America's pre-eminent gatherings of top-level travel editors and writers.

This annual event usually alternates between New York and Los Angeles, and this year for the first time was held in Toronto.

This was a venue where Newfoundland and Labrador took centre stage, by hosting the keynote luncheon presentation on May 6.

Through the support of our tourism partners at the event, the Viking Trail Tourism Association, Canadian Heritage, and Canadian Pacific Hotel Newfoundland, we presented our unique tourism message to 380 of North America's leading travel influencers.

There's no question we had their attention. The powerful visual imagery of whales, icebergs, and coastlines, drawn from my department's video library, presented a captivating backdrop for our tourism messages, and the response was overwhelming.

The attendance at our function was a telling sign of the interest in our wonderful province, as was the activity around our promotional booth, which was booked beyond capacity to accommodate the huge number of travel professionals seeking information on Newfoundland and Labrador.

Our impact at the Media Marketplace is receiving national attention via Canadian Press feature articles, and is also a lead story on the Canoe website, which stems from the Financial Post and Sun Newspaper chain.

We have attended such functions before, but rarely have wereceived such special attention in a marketplace that featured over 170 competing tourism interests.

Last year was an exposure breakthrough for Newfoundland and Labrador, as our Cabot 500 Anniversary Celebrations generatedan unprecedented amount of exposure for the province.

My department has no intention of letting such global awareness lapse. We are continuing to build upon our excellent tourism profile, and strategic promotional endeavours such as the Media Marketplace are key steps in the information process.

These are excellent venues at which to highlight not pending events such as Soiree '99 and the Viking Millennium, but the natural and cultural experiences we can offer on an annual basis.

We will continue to seek such cost-effective, strategic presentations of our rich tourism product, especially in partnership arrangements with key tourism players throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

1998 05 12 3:10 p.m.