Area 506’s waterfront container village has received big props on the national tourism-industry stage.
Last week, the Saint John retail and event space won “Innovator Of The Year” at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) National Tourism Awards.
The container village is a waterfront attraction made from 54 shipping containers that have been transformed into a small community for vendors and a summer-long concert series.
TIAC’s Innovator of the Year award recognizes a business or organization that creates “the most innovative” new product, service, or approach to an existing product or service, that “positively impacts the tourism business or tourism industry as a whole.”
Consideration was given to creative projects that promote long-term growth in the tourism industry and positively impact visitors’ experiences.
Ray Gracewood, the president of Area506, said in a news release the waterfront container village has been able to do all of that, and that its first year has been “an incredible success.”
“Our partners at Port Saint John have supported this vision since the start, and our focus on elevating the cruise passenger experience in Southern New Brunswick has always been one of our shared objectives,” he says.
“Being celebrated by TIAC as innovator of the year validates our strategy of doing things differently,” he adds.
Natalie Allaby, Port Saint John’s cruise development manager, agreed that the waterfront container village was a big boon to the city’s cruise industry.
“Cruise passengers and crew loved this unique attraction within steps of disembarking the ship,” she said. She added that she hopes the village will help push the city to record cruise traffic in 2023.
While the waterfront container village delighted many cruise passengers this year, it also functioned as a kind of mini business incubator.
RELATED: Saint John Container Village Jumpstarts Big Moves For Local Small Businesses
Of the 40 vendors that called the village home over the summer, at least three went on to open permanent locations.
Josée Forbes, the founder of Forty Luxe The Label, told Huddle her experience at Area 506 opened her eyes to the strong local community she has supporting her brand and gave her the confidence she needed to open a full-fledged storefront.
“The Container Village was basically my first somewhat permanent location of my own,” she said. “As soon as I went down there for the first time, I was like, ‘wow, this would be a perfect first or next step for me.’”
This story was originally published by Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
