Feds Fund Tourism Technology

NS: Feds invest more than $1M in tourism technology project
By Staff, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Daily Business Buzz, May 13, 2010

[HALIFAX, NS] — The tourism industry in Atlantic Canada will benefit from a renewed joint investment of more than $1 million from the federal government over the next three years to support the TourismTechnology.com program (also known as TT.com).

Established in 2000, the program is designed to encourage the adoption of technology within the tourism sector. It is the result of a partnership involving the Government of Canada, through ACOA, the four Atlantic provincial governments, and the four provincial tourism industry associations. The focus of the program is on education and helping tourism operators make well-informed decisions about their business practices and secure the significant business benefits tied to the increase use and integration of technology in their operations.

Over the next three years, the Government of Canada, through ACOA, is contributing $495,000 toward the project. The Atlantic provinces are contributing a total of $300,000, of which the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage is contributing $75,000. As well, the four provincial tourism industry associations are contributing a total of $261,000.

The TourismTechnology.com project employs four technology resource coordinators (TRC), one in each Atlantic Canada Tourism Industry Association office. Each TRC is trained to evaluate the existing online presence of a tourism business, and to create a checklist or strategy to help tourism operators move to the next level in technology adoption and online marketing practices.

“The TourismTechnology.com program is a great resource to help our tourism industry operators in Atlantic Canada understand new and changing technologies available, to bring more visitors to Atlantic Canada,” said Don Cudmore, Secretariat for TourismTechnology.com. “This program will ensure that our industry is keeping up with all the current and future consumer trends and we will be better prepared to move the tourism industry in Atlantic Canada forward to meet these new challenges.”