P.E.I. culinary bootcamp, B.C. kayak tour given ‘stamp of quality’

VANCOUVER – A “culinary bootcamp” in P.E.I. and a kayak tour among sea otters in British Columbia are among experiences that have received a “stamp of quality” from the Canadian Tourism Commission.

The commission has added 28 businesses to its Canadian Signature Experiences, a collection of attractions used by the Crown corporation, tour operators and travel agents to promote Canada internationally.

At the Island Flavours Culinary Bootcamp, offered by Holland College in Charlottetown, participants learn about P.E.I.’s seafood, meat and vegetables while visiting markets and cooking in the kitchens of the Culinary Institute of Canada.

On West Coast Expeditions’ sea otter kayak tours, paddlers explore waters off Vancouver Island northwest of Tofino, in the traditional territory of the Kyuquot and Checleset First Nations.

Other additions to the collection include history-themed snowshoe tours at Sunshine Village Ski Resort, Alta.; a winter exploration of northern Saskatchewan’s boreal forest; bird-banding at Oak Hammock Marsh, Man.; the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum in Carp. Ont.; a culinary heritage tour in Montreal; a sunset hike in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, N.S.; a picnic by a lighthouse in Ferryland, N.L.; a Northern Lights viewing experience at Blachford Lake Lodge, N.W.T.; and a wildlife safari in Nunavut.

There are 181 Canadian Signature Experiences. The new members are listed at http://bit.ly/1dyOvJy, and the others at http://bit.ly/1exGVvR.