Tourism
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation

Identified as one of the main sectors holding considerable potential for future economic growth, the tourism industry in 1996 marked a year of intense preparation for the John Cabot 500th Anniversary Celebrations. New initiatives included the successful launch of the state-of-the-art Tourism Destination Management System (TDMS) and the creation -- in partnership with the Nature Conservancy, Abitibi-Price and Noranda -- of the King George IVth Ecological Reserve. This reserve, situated west of the Burgeo Highway, is one of the largest and most diverse undisturbed delta sites in the Province.

Tourism is a unique composite industry built upon the Province's rich natural, historic and cultural resources, and composed of an array of service industries including transportation, accommodations, food and beverage, travel services, recreation and entertainment.

Industry Performance

Approximately 305,000 non-resident tourists generated $164.2 million in expenditures last year. This represented a decline of 5.8 percent in visitations and $4.25 million in expenditures over 1995 levels. This reduction in activity is comparable to a three percent decline in automobile visits and an eight percent drop in airline visitors reported in neighbouring Nova Scotia.

Other travel and tourism indicators registering declines in 1996 included visitation to Provincial chalets, historic sites and museums, traffic on scheduled airlines, visitors to national parks and the number of non-resident trout and salmon licences sold.

The Province, nevertheless, experienced significant growth in other areas, including increased traffic on charter airlines, visits to the world-renowned Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary and campground registrations within the system of Provincial Parks. Customs and Excise data indicated a 59 percent increase in international travellers (principally from Germany, France and Great Britain) over 1995 levels.

The Tourism Destination Management System

Last year marked the completion and inauguration of the Province's new central information and reservation system, the TDMS. This system, developed through a strategic partnership of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and NewTel Communications, is expected to play a significant role in increasing tourism in the Province.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the third province in Canada to have such a system in place, preceded only by Ontario and Nova Scotia. Phase I, in which a computer-based central reservation system was linked to the Tourist Information System, has been completed, and the TDMS has become operational through a privately run call centre. The transition from a book-and-telephone system to a centralized, computer-based tourism information and reservation system has provided tourists with an efficient one-stop shopping service. Following the Province's first-ever tourism direct mail campaign late last year to promote the Cabot 500th Anniversary Celebrations, around 14,400 inquiries were registered through the system from December 1996 to January 1997, more than double the inquiries for the same period a year earlier. Subsequent phases are planned to expand the TDMS to include reservation capabilities for attractions, events, restaurants, tours and more, as well as interactive multi-media features.

New Marketing Strategy and Outlook

With its rich resources of nature, culture and heritage, Newfoundland and Labrador has long had the potential to become internationally known in certain niche markets as a destination of choice in the tourism industry. To realize its full potential as an export industry, the Province is focused in 1997 and beyond on attracting more non-resident visitors, especially in those market segments which represent prime opportunities for growth.

This special focus is guided largely by the recent Newfoundland and Labrador Product Market Match Study. This new tourism development strategy concentrates on a range of premium products and markets in which the Province is considered to have a unique, market-ready product offering and a comparative advantage. These products and markets are: sightseeing/touring; hunting (profiled in this section); nature viewing; meetings, conventions and incentive travel; fishing (inland and marine); winter adventure; and culture.

Other programs designed to improve the Provincial tourism product which are well underway include the SuperHost program, occupational standards and certification programs and the Taste of Newfoundland and Labrador program which features and promotes the serving of high-quality local cuisine. Future emphasis will also be placed on human resource development in niche products to develop skills in customer service, guiding/interpretation and entrepreneurship and management.

On June 24, 1997 the 500th Anniversary of John Cabot's Voyage to North America will be commemorated when a modern-day replica of his ship the Matthew makes landfall at Bonavista, Newfoundland.

The John Cabot 500th Anniversary Celebrations

This year will mark the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage in 1497 and the opening up of the Northwest Atlantic frontier to subsequent development and settlement based on the cod fishery. The 500th Anniversary Celebrations are expected to thrust the Province onto a new plateau of destination awareness and resident and non-resident visitation. The Province is expecting significant incremental visitation and revenue generated by the celebrations in 1997. The celebrations planned for this year in the Province are unequalled elsewhere in Canada and are ranked among the best in the world for 1997.

The Opening Ceremonies for the Cabot Celebrations were held in January 1997. Through teleconferencing technology supplied by NewTel Enterprises, Bristol, England was linked with the Matthew's 17 ports of call in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 1997, Government, through an unprecedented direct mail campaign, issued a personal invitation to join the Celebrations to 400,000 resident households (in two campaigns) and 200,000 non-resident households (including 70,000 US households). The Cabot 500th Anniversary Celebrations have also highlighted the Province's potential in a number of areas.

Increased awareness of the Province as a site which can host large conventions, combined with first-class services and facilities and overall unique lure as a destination, has translated into over 40,000 delegates attending nearly 100 conventions which are anticipated for St. John's alone. This is significantly above the average number of conventions and delegates in previous years, and augers well for future conventions and meetings business. Over $600,000 has been raised in major corporate sponsorships from Labatt Breweries, NewTel, Sobeys, Air Canada/Air Nova, CIBC, Marine Atlantic, Voisey's Bay Nickel Company and Petro Canada. This direct financial support of the Cabot 500 -- in addition to substantial in-kind contributions -- demonstrates the vital role of public/private partnerships in tourism marketing and development.

The celebrations have also garnered much international attention -- the influential American Bus Association has named the Cabot 500 the top event in North America in 1997 and the Guild of British Travel Writers has recognized the celebrations through its Silver Otter Award.

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