View of Richmond

With the end of the traditional tourism season on Cape Breton, it gives us a chance to look back at this past season and start to plan for the next. This past season Cape Breton has witnessed some remarkable feats in its tourism industry. First being designated as the Number one island destination in North America and second, being named third best island destination in the world; that is definitely something to be proud of. It is now our goal to keep our standing at this top class level in order to continue to draw visitors from around the world. Cape Breton also saw the Bras d’Or Lakes receive the designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which also helps draw attention from around the world. This past season some of the best known travel writers from around the globe traveled to Cape Breton to experience firsthand our Cape Breton culture for which we are known. And Destination Cape Breton Association has worked very diligently increasing our presence in the Halifax mainstream and have also undergone an extensive upgrade to the CBIsland.com website, which is an asset to our operators, so they can effectively update their individual listings and give our visitors a more complete view of what the island has to offer.

DCBA continues to move forward with plans and learning sessions to insure that the tourism industry continues to grow. And as part of this effort a series of free information sessions will be held around the island to which all industry operators are invited to attend. During these sessions, DCBA staff will take the opportunity to highlight some exciting milestones and accomplishments to date, primarily as a result of the operators, businesses and communities organizations commitment and support to Cape Breton’s growing tourism industry. Operators will be updated on the opportunities available to become more involved within the industry throughout 2012. These sessions will be a great place to network, a chance to keep up-to-date on the many successes in the industry and an excellent opportunity to become more involved in the community. The sessions will take place December 5th - Inverary Inn in Baddeck 10:00 am, December 6th - Inverness Fire Hall 1:00 pm, December 7th - Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre 10:00 am, December 7th - Bras d’Or Lakes Inn, St. Peter’s 1:30 pm and December 9th - Delta, Sydney 10:00 am. To register go to http://www.cbisland.com/signup/.