The AREA506 Waterfront Container Village was proclaimed the winner of the Innovator of the Year award at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) National Tourism Awards on November 23.

The prize comes as an addition to the two local awards previously received at the Hospitality Saint John Tourism Awards as the Top Attraction and Rising Tide award recipient, according to the press release. 

“The inaugural season of the AREA506 Waterfront Container Village has been an incredible success and being celebrated by TIAC as Innovator of the Year validates our strategy of doing things differently,” said Ray Gracewood, president of AREA506.

“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”. 

The AREA506 Waterfront Container Village opened on the Saint John, New Brunswick waterfront in June 2022. The village consists of 60 shipping containers where local food and drink vendors, as well as retailers, provide a unique shopping, dining, and entertainment experience to over 147,000 passengers coming from 68 cruise ships, the total number of ships who visited the port this year.

“We’re thrilled for the AREA506 team on their national award recognition and inaugural season in Saint John. Cruise passengers and crew loved this unique attraction within steps of disembarking the ship,” said Natalie Allaby, cruise development manager at Port Saint John. 

“We look forward to a record-breaking 2023 so that even more visitors and locals can experience this truly authentic and unique waterfront development.”