Tourism
Linda Lowther arguably has the most extensive hands on experience of anyone in the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island: entrepreneur, front line worker, volunteer, leader, influencer and consultant.
As entrepreneurs, she and her husband built and ran Cavendish’s highly popular Sundance Cottages for 32 years, garnering awards throughout the years, including the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI) Queen's County award, the TIAPEI Lieutenant Governor's award and the Doctor Kent Ellis Quality of Excellence award. During those 32 years, they hosted thousands of visitors to PEI and in doing so, served as outstanding ambassadors for the industry.
In that time, Linda served two consecutive terms as the President of TIAPEI and spent an additional nine years volunteering on the executive. She served two years as the Cavendish Area Tourism Association President, the Chair of the Lucy Maud Montgomery Festival, Vice President of Meetings and Conventions PEI, President of Festival and Events PEI and was a steering committee member of the 1999-2003 Tourism Strategic Plan.
Island tourism has been in her blood since being a teenager. Her first summer job was at the International House of Dolls in Desable, followed by her role as a guide at Green Gables Heritage Place at the PEI National Park. She even greeted visitors at one of the busiest tourism corners on PEI while working at the family-owned Cavendish ESSO service station.
Linda also recently served as a committee member of the Strategic Engagement Task Force which looked at the broad picture of Tourism needs in the province.
She has been nominated twice as Business Woman of the Year with the Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité.
Since 2011 she has been working regionally and nationally as a consultant. Business and Tourism projects include:
- Collège Acadie Î.-P.-É.: Research project to find areas where employer needs, student interest, and the capacity of Collège Acadie Î.-P.-É. intersect in order to provide recommendations on future course offerings and partnerships at the Collège. Completed May 2012. Lead researcher, facilitator, writer. ACOA and Tourism PEI: Operational Plan for a tourism business
- TIAPEI: Human Resource Strategy for the Tourism Industry in partnership with Dunne Consulting and Grant Thornton. Completed May 2013, Collaborator, facilitator.
- PEI2014, project lead for student engagement component which included the development of historical activities for students and historical site visitations. (Completed 2015)
- Tourism Cavendish Beach: Operational Plan to support Immigrant Investors
- Samuel Holland 250th anniversary, developed an educational kit for schools. (Completed 2015)
- PEI Connectors, facilitated workshops providing an introduction to the tourism industry in general and the accommodation sector in particular to immigrant investors. (May 2016 and March 2017)
- Quality Tourism Services: A review of the Canada Select Program on PEI and initial marketing directions. (February 2017)
- Food Island Partnership: Food Tourism Strategy in collaboration with Dunne Consulting (2017)
- Central Coastal Tourism Partnership: Strategic Plan in collaboration with Dunne Consulting (2018)
- The Farmers’ Bank of Rustico and Doucet House: Options for Acadian Experiential Activities (2019)
- Tourism Industry Association of PEI: Facilitated workshops for new accommodation owners (2018 and 2019)
- Évangéline Tourism Association: Packaging workshop (2019)
- Camp Kildare: Options for the Future (2020)
- Island Trails: The Island Walk project development (2020)
- Fall Flavours Food Hikes (2021)
Linda has published numerous reports and papers, delivered keynote addresses and other presentations on a range of topics at national and regional forums. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from UPEI and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Saint-Mary’s University.