Fundy Trail among top tourist treasures
Travelocity.ca website includes attraction among country's hottest spots
One of the world's largest online travel agencies is listing a New Brunswick outdoor tourist attraction among the nation's top 25 hidden treasures.Travelocity.ca unveiled their "local secret, big finds 2007" earlier this week -- a selection of tourist attractions that may be deemed off the beaten track when compared to more mainstream visitor offerings.
Included on the list was the Fundy Trail Parkway system along the coast of the Bay of Fundy.
The site has a series of trails located along the Fundy coast, give prime viewing spots for the highest tides in the world.
The tides themselves are well known, but Toronto-based editor for Travelocity.ca, Jennifer Gaines, said the point was to give exposure to a site perhaps lesser known.
"Everybody knows about the CN Tower," she said. "That's not what we were looking for."
Gaines said the point of the list was to have travellers see a list of places they may not be familiar with but places they very well should.
"We sent out a survey to almost a million of our members and asked them if someone were to visit their hometown, where would they want to take them so they could experience a bit of local flavour?" she said.
The request was made in the spring of 2006.
"Ten thousand nominations poured in from across North America and our team of editors actually went through each and every one of those nominations. It was very much so a labour of love."
Brian Clark, manager of the Fundy Trail Parkway in St. Martins, said he was pleased to receive word from the web site that their attraction had been chosen.
"It is a big deal," he said. "We're very pleased to have been chosen and voted on especially voted on by our visitors and people who have been here and really appreciate what we offer."
Clark said the title from the web site would help them sell their tourist spot at the several travel trade shows they attend across North America.
"We'll just put the sticker on the door that they gave us and hope for some points out of it."
Gaines said she's never been to the Fundy Trail site, but said the attraction jumps of the page to her because its an outdoor site taken to the next level.
"One local actually described it as a 'eco-adventure of epic proportions," she said.
Gaines also added that attractions big on health and wellness seem to be a developing trend with vacationers -- a trend that bodes well for the Fundy Trail.
"People really want to get out and be active even when they're on vacation," she said.
The Fundy Trail was the only New Brunswick attraction to make the "local secrets" list.
Keeping it company in the Atlantic Canadian category were three sites from Nova Scotia: Truro's Victoria Park -- a woodland located essentially in the middle of town; Pictou's Lobster Carnival -- a three-day festival in July marking the end of the area's fishing season; and Bedford's The Chickenburger -- a 60-year-old restaurant near Halifax known for its burgers and fish and chips.
"We really whittled the list down to what we felt were very unique finds," said Gaines.
She said the ultimate goal of the list was to give travellers an option to experience the culture of certain destinations.
"You don't experience the culture through most of the tourist traps.
Fundy Trail...
