Haida Gwaii, B.C.-  The Haida Heritage Centre  has been named the Best Overseas Tourism attraction for 2010 by the British Guild of Travel Writers.

 

The Centre was nominated by London-based travel writers Paul Wade and Kathy Arnold after their visit to the centre in September of this year.

 

Northern British Columbia Tourism Association’s Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Everett, was on hand at the British Guild of Travel Writers gala ceremony in London to receive the award. Jason Alsop, Operations Manager of the Haida Heritage Centre appeared by pre-recorded video to officially accept the honor.

 

 “The Haida Gwaii Heritage Centre is our gift to the world,” said James Cowpar, Board member of Qay’llnagaay Heritage Centre Society. “The story of Haida Gwaii and of the Haida people as revealed in the Haida Heritage Centre is an opportunity for all of us, wherever we come from, to rediscover and experience our connections to and responsibilities for the earth. The centre celebrates the living culture of the Haida people by reaffirming our traditions and values, encouraging artistic expression and serving as a keeper of all that we are.”

 

Other awards-winners for 2010 were the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Blists Hill, a re-created Victorian town and UNESCO World Heritage Site.