Submitted by Urs Thomas-Members of the Queen Charlotte Islands Chamber of Commerce attended a trade show with an all island booth for the first time ever.
Urs Thomas from Port Clements, Gloria O'Brien from the Queen Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and Jenny Wiles from the Haida Heritage Centre Marketing Office manned the booth at the Fraser Valley Boat & Sportsmen's Show at the Tradex Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford, from March 2 to 4.
Tradex is the second largest exhibition facility in the province and serves a market of 1.5 million people from the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland. Around 31,000 people attended the three-day show, an increase over past years.
Many of the visitors who stopped by the booth had lived on the Queen Charlottes or had visited previously for fishing and recreational activities. Those who had not been to the islands expressed a keen interest in visiting either this year or next and asked for information on flights and ferry schedules, which was provided.
The reactions were all positive and for those who were not quite sure where the Charlottes were, maps were available to show the location. Island lure and community brochures, Haida Heritage Centre brochures, and maps were given out, as well as Guides to the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii, provided by The Observer. The booth featured large display banners and slide shows provided by the partners.
"Favourite place on the planet" and "Best holiday I've ever had" were two of the many complimentary comments made by visitors to the booth.
The partners who attended were: the Village of Port Clements, the Queen Charlotte Islands Chamber of Commerce, the Village of Queen Charlotte, the Village of Masset, Haida Gwaii Tourism Association and the Haida Heritage Centre.
The booth is now on its way to Edmonton and will be at the Prince Rupert Trade Show at the end of April.