• Canada's most easterly province invests in international market development with on-the-ground representative

• Leeds-based marketing and communications agency All About The Story appointed

• Move coincides with Canada being voted as the number one destination to visit in 2017 by Lonely Planet

Leeds, February 16, 2017: Destination St. John's, the tourism marketing agency for St. John's, the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador, is to increase its presence in the UK market with the appointment of an on-the-ground representative for the first time.

The Provincial capital will be supported in its efforts to reach out to British visitors by Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, and will be represented on the ground by Leeds-based agency All About The Story.

St. John's' entry into the UK market comes at a time when interest in Canada is high thanks to 2017 seeing the county's 150th anniversary. What's more it is the nearest North American city to Europe – and welcomes three daily flights from Europe - London Heathrow (Air Canada), London Gatwick (WestJet) and Dublin, Ireland (WestJet) meaning access has never been easier.

All About The Story is a Leeds-based travel marketing and communications agency headed up by former Aviareps UK head of tourism, Lyndsey Thomas and ex-Metro travel editor, James Ellis. The pair have more than 30 years experience in tourism communications – with Lyndsey having extensive experience in representing Canadian destinations to the British market.

The company has been tasked with developing and implementing a robust sales and marketing strategy for the greater St. John's area and its tourism stakeholders. The strategy will focus on extensive product development and product placement with existing and new tour operators in the UK and Ireland. Extensive training sessions for those selling travel will also form part of the scope for All About the Story. In addition, DSJ hosts a number of familiarization tours and participates in visits by travel media.

Cathy Duke - CEO, Destination St. John's says "The announcement by Air Canada that it was returning to a year round service on the St. John's to Heathrow route, and the introduction of new direct flights by WestJet, from St. John's to Gatwick in 2016 and St. John's to Dublin in 2014, has created a new opportunity for St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador to access the UK Market. We are excited to be working with All About the Story / UK market and look forward to introducing many new British and Irish visitors to our shores"

Lyndsey Thomas says: "There is no better time for Destination St. John's and its partners to invest into gaining a bigger market share of Brits considering Canada as their next holiday destination. It's less than a five-hour direct flight from London and with only a 3.5-hour time difference jet lag is not an issue.

The city of St. John's is a melting pot of colour, cuisine, nightlife, history and culture. It is a city on the edge of nature surrounded by world class hiking, breathtaking scenery, whale watching, birding and the iceberg migration. This destination will appeal to those looking for a short-break, weekend destination or as part of a 7-14 day self-drive or escorted touring holiday across the province.

I am confident that with the opportunity I have been given to represent the destination in the UK and Ireland for the first time will result in a substantial increase in tourism from these key international markets into Newfoundland and Labrador."

Lyndsey Thomas, formally UK Marketing Manager for Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership and now Director and Co-Founder of Leeds-based All About the Story (www.allaboutthestory.co.uk) will act as Destination St. John's (DSJ) Travel Trade Account Director for the UK and Irish markets.

For further information on Destination St. John's visit www.destinationstjohns.com

~ENDS~

For further details, logos and/or photos please contact Lyndsey Thomas at All About the Story:

Lyndsey Thomas

Director - Travel Trade UK & Ireland

Destination St. John's

Lyndsey@allaboutthestory.co.uk 

+44 7568 488 474

@AATSPress

Tweet it: St. John's - @DiscoverSJ - Newfoundland & Labrador's capital on #Canada's East Coast is working with @AATSPress to increase UK visitors! 

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

About Destination St. John's (DSJ)

Destination St. John's (DSJ) is a destination marketing organization representing tourism operators in the St. John's region..  It is first and foremost a sales and marketing organization, selling tourism partners' products, services and experiences to the world.  It currently targets major meetings, conventions and incentive travel (MC&IT); sport and cultural events, leisure travel and group tours.

About St. John's

St. John's, is the capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador off Canada's Atlantic coast. Its harbour, settled by the British in the 1600s, is enclosed by rugged hills. It is also the only place where crossing of the migratory paths of the humpback whales and the icebergs broken from the glaciers north of Greenland and drifting south, can be seen from land.

Just five hours west of London, the city is the most easterly point in North America. Being the most easterly point merits its very own time zone, half-an-hour off-kilter with the rest of the world.  Above the city is Signal Hill, which features walking trails and Cabot Tower, site of the first transatlantic wireless communication in 1901. Downtown is known for its colourful row houses known locally as Jellybean Row and George Street has one of the highest concentrations of pubs and bars in North America. The city is rich is history, culture and boasts a thriving culinary scene.

About Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province of Canada. The province is home to the discovery of North America by Giovanni Cabot in 1497, but is the youngest province of Canada.

On Newfoundland's northern peninsula coast, the Norse archaeological site L'Anse aux Meadows is the reputed settlement of Viking explorer Leif Erikson. Gros Morne National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site , has majestic mountains and glacial fjords.

Twice the size of the United Kingdom with the population the same size as the city of Leeds, the Province is rich in history and natural wonders, stunning coastlines, breaching whales, icebergs and some of the world's most dramatic skylines.

For the areas around St. John's, the average summer temperature is 19°C (70°F) while the average winter temperature hovers around 0°C (32°F).