Tourism Product Development – Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation

The Provincial Tourism Product Development Plan is a collaborative approach that aligns private, non-profit and government tourism partners around provincial priorities, while integrating regional priorities from the five Destination Development Plans. Together, private, government and non-profit tourism partners will increase the number of Newfoundland and Labrador brand tourism experiences to attract more visitors, encourage them to stay longer and experience more.

Provincial Tourism Product Development Plan

The focus of the Provincial Tourism Product Development Plan is to enhance and create high quality, premium products that celebrate experiences, culture, and people.  The ultimate goal is to guide and support the development of visitor-focused Newfoundland and Labrador brand experiences.

This will be achieved through a collaborative approach among tourism stakeholders and partners to achieve experience development priorities in Newfoundland and Labrador. Together, private, government and non-profit tourism partners will increase the number of Newfoundland and Labrador brand tourism experiences to attract more visitors, encourage them to stay longer and experience more.

The plan provides an overview of the four areas of focus that will enable strategic private and public investment in tourism development for Newfoundland and Labrador.

1. Creating and Delivering Brand Experiences: People and Program-Based
   People and program-based experiences connect visitors with locals through authentic experiences celebrating Newfoundland and Labrador’s most special natural and cultural icons.

2. Enhancing Tourism Market- Readiness
   In order to deliver brilliantly on the Newfoundland and Labrador brand promise and increase value and appeal in core markets, tourism operators need to make strategic investments that meet and aim to exceed the expectations of visitors.

3. Collaborating to Compete
   Collaborating for high quality itineraries and packages that link the appeal of attractions and experiences, such as cultural sites or trail experiences, to Newfoundland and Labrador’s target markets will encourage visitors to have longer stays and experience more.

4. Understanding Value and Success
   It is important that tourism stakeholders work together to share knowledge and success in order to continuously gain a deeper understanding of visitors.  This will enable Newfoundland and Labrador to continue to evolve in a competitive global marketplace.

Experience Development and Market-Readiness

The Visitor Journey is central to the Provincial Tourism Product Development Plan. Every visitor journey is different in Newfoundland and Labrador, from the mode of transportation they use to the services they require and attractions they want to experience. By using the main touch points along the visitor journey – transportation, visitor services, food, accommodations and things to experience – all partners can focus attention on delivering on the Newfoundland and Labrador brand promise to the most important people in the equation: visitors. 

Creating Experiences Tool Kit

The Creating Experiences Tool Kit is a guide to the development of high quality and unique experiences that visitors to  Newfoundland and Labrador are seeking.  It also includes examples of successful operators who have embraced the spirit of experiential tourism.

General Market-Readiness Guidelines

General Market-Readiness Guidelines assist tourism operators in ensuring that their experiences, products and services are ready for the tourism market.

Sense of Arrival

A Sense of Arrival is the welcome and warmth that visitors feel once they have reached their destination. Ideally, this sense of arrival is in keeping with the perceptions generated through promotional activities and in meeting expectations of the visitor prior to the trip.

Food Tourism Experiences

Food Tourism Experiences  go well beyond the dining experience. It includes a variety of culinary activities developed expressly for visitors that showcase food and beverages and provide an opportunity for visitors to discover dishes Indigenous to each region. Food and beverage tours, festivals, dinner theatres and other creative ways will help tell food stories.

Destination Trails

Destination Trails  encompass the large variety of hiking and walking trails found in Newfoundland and Labrador. They range from phenomenal coastal walks that provide access to iceberg and wildlife viewing, to recreational routes through the wilderness, mountains, and communities, and scenic pathways that have been used by locals and visitors for years.

Programs and Services

Using an extensive toolkit, TCAR works with many economic development stakeholders including municipalities, businesses, industry associations, and other economic development organizations to advance tourism product development.

TCAR Funding Programs

Tourism Market-Readiness Subsidy

Market Readiness is the creation and delivery of memorable, value added, high quality products and experiences that meet and exceed the expectations of visitors. This Tourism Market Readiness Program is designed to assist tourism stakeholders in enhancing the quality and market readiness of their tourism services, businesses and products.

Festivals and Events Season Extension Program

Multi-season tourism products aim to extend the traditional tourism season throughout the province and increase tourism revenues.  The Season Extension Program invests in strategic Festivals and Events that contribute significantly to travel in the shoulder and winter seasons and have the potential to generate non-resident demand.

Regional Destination Development Plans

Destination Development planning with all tourism stakeholders produced five Regional Destination Development Plans: Labrador, Western, Central, Eastern and St. John’s/Northeast Avalon. Through an intensive Tourism Destination Visitor Appeal Appraisal, substantial stakeholder consultation, analysis and prioritization in each of the regions, all five Destination Development Plans are completed and being implemented.

Northeast Avalon

The North East Avalon (NEA) is the easternmost point in North America and includes the capital city of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. It also encompasses many surrounding communities, including the City of Mount Pearl, the Towns of Torbay, Portugal Cove-St. Philips (PCSP), Paradise, Witless Bay, Petty Harbour and Conception Bay South. Together, these communities are home to many tourist-related sites and attractions.

Eastern Region

The Eastern Region has long been an appealing tourism destination attracting thousands of visitors annually from near and far. Comprising countless picturesque towns and villages and breath taking landscapes, the region is situated over a vast geographic area from Northern and Southern Avalon to the Burin and Bonavista Peninsulas. The region consists of five distinct tourism sub-regions; the Baccalieu Trail/Admiral’s Coast, Irish Loop, Cape Shore Loop, Heritage Run and the Discovery Trail/Osprey Trail.

Central Region

Tourism in the Central Region is vast, diverse and celebrates everything ‘Adventure Central’. With a focus on enjoying the outdoors, residents and non-residents alike will delight at the annual lure of Iceberg Alley as six types of icebergs float down from Greenland and 22 species of whales entertain visitors watching from the land and from the sea.

Western Region

Gifted with some of the most picturesque landscapes in Canada, the Western Region’s coastal and mountain vistas are equal to any in the world. The finger of land located on the westerly coast of the island of Newfoundland is a region that stretches 700 kilometers from Channel-Port aux Basques in the south, through the Humber Valley and Gros Morne National Park, to the Viking site of L’Anse aux Meadows near the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula at St. Anthony.

Labrador Region

The Labrador Region occupies an area of approximately 625,000 sq. mi (1,620,000 sq. km), and its highest mountains are over 5,000 ft. (1,520 m). The Big Land – though Labrador’s land mass is twice that of the island of Newfoundland, it has only 8% of the province’s population. Labrador’s story is remarkable and different than Newfoundland’s. Through strategic investments in tourism and capacity building, the unique heritage of the north, south, west and central sub-regions of Labrador can be shared with the world.

Links

To find out more about this sector, please contact our Tourism Product Development unit.