Bay of Fundy in wonders of nature final

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Last Updated: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | 1:20 PM AT

CBC News

 

The view of New Brunswick's Cape Enrage in the Bay of Fundy. (N.B. tourism department/Canadian Press)

 The Bay of Fundy has swept into the final round of an international contest designed to name the next seven wonders of nature. The Bay of Fundy, Canada's only remaining entrant in the contest, was named on Tuesday to the Top 28 of the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign.

Terri McColloch, the manager of the Bay of Fundy Tourism Board, said she's excited about the international distinction. "It's kind of like being in the Olympics or on the podium or close to the podium," McColloch said. The bay is now competing with other major tourist attractions such as  the Dead Sea, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon rainforest. The New 7 Wonders campaign, led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, aims to support, preserve and restore monuments and natural sites.

Winning sites to be announced in 2011

The public can now begin voting for the Final 7. The winners will be announced in 2011 leaving time for tourists to travel to the hot spots. "I think it will really give the region more exposure as a place for people to visit and enjoy," McColloch said. "Obviously it would be nice if we had a few more tourists, it's been a bit of a quiet season all around." McCullough can't say how much of an economic boost the Top 28 will be, but she is confident that the Fundy tides will pull in enough votes to come out on top. The bay with the world's highest tides were a late addition to the previous round of voting. The bay was reinstated in the global competition in mid-June after Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park was disqualified for not meeting contest requirements.