Visions for Newfoundland & Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador used to be a have-not province, but as other provinces see their economies tumble, Canada’s easternmost province seems to be on a roll.

More people are becoming aware The Rock’s assets, thanks in part to the award-winning television ads produced by Target Marketing. People seem to connect emotionally with the ads, which feature scenes like a solitary figure silhouetted on a cliff on the Bonavista peninsula, or a child running through laundry.  The latest ads in the “Find Yourself Here” campaign, just launched in late January.

The advertisements focus on the spectacular beauty of Gros Morne National Park, the physical architecture of built heritage, and L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, the only authenticated Viking settlement in North America.

Over the past five years, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has doubled its marketing budget from $6 million to $12 million annually. Spending by resident and non-resident tourists totals approximately $800 million annually.

Other positive developments include the two new Visions for Newfoundland and Labrador which I heard about last month when I attended the Lookout! Tourism Summit in Corner Brook.

The first Vision is the province’s new tourism strategy, Uncommon Potential — a well-conceived partnership between government, municipalities, the hospitality industry and associations to map the province’s tourism strategy to 2020.

As Rob Greenwood of Memorial University of Newfoundland said in his address to the conference, the true test of the vision will be a “need for board members to stand their ground when there is a change of government.”

The second is the MV Atlantic Vision, the new ferry that will soon ply the waters between Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques Newfoundland. The ferry arrived in Canada from Sweden late last year.

The vessel is significantly larger than any other vessel ever operated by Marine Atlantic. The ferry is 203 metres in length and has four propulsion engines with a total output of 46 megawatts and can travel at speeds up to 27 knots.  In comparison, the MV Caribou is 179 metres long.  It has four engines with a total output of 21 megawatts and can travel at speeds of up to 20 knots.

On a per vehicle basis, the new vessel will be 34 percent more fuel efficient than either the MV Caribou or the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood.

A hotel on the water, the vessel has modern passenger areas which include a gift shop, restaurants, snack bar, bar, spa, seating lounges, and 196 passenger cabins in a variety of classes.  In addition, this vessel has a dedicated trucker lounge, the first time such amenity is offered by Marine Atlantic.

The new vessel is scheduled to start passenger service April 1.

A new reservation system and a website called Atlantic Portal, which connects marine customers with tourism opportunities, hotels and restaurants in the province are some of the other reasons why Newfoundland tourism is looking up.

— Colleen Isherwood, Editor