Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 116-o Kitchen partieso Cuisine,o Local customs,o Packaged tours around cultural and heritage themes, e.g. theatre, craftmaking,archaeology, etc.,o Crafts, books, music/recordings, art, films/videos,o Aboriginal experiences, ando Celebrations by Acadian and other ethnic groups.o A key advantage of many cultural and heritage tourism products is that they can deliverhigh quality experiences year round, without the dependence on seasons or fine weatherthat limits certain other products.Transforming ‘Cultural’ into ‘Cultural Tourism Products’The province has a wide selection of cultural and heritage offerings across the province. Someare successful and appear to be fully ‘tourism-ready’, including the Gros Morne Festival inShallow Bay, Trinity Pageant and Spirit of Newfoundland Productions in St. John’s.Some are ‘emerging’ with plans in place to grow their role in tourism. Others are undevelopedin terms of a tourist offering, but have potential.Many are badly in need of rejuvenation and most are challenged in terms of sustainability.Transforming ‘cultural’ into successful cultural and heritage tourism attractions, events andprograms requires the addition of a number of important things, including:o Programming enhancements to connect with visitors who are unfamiliar with the contextof the programming and need more explanation and interpretationo A marketing program directed at tourism marketso Advance information services (1year plus) via a website, collateral, a 1-800 number, etc.o A system of advance reservations and ticketingo Business practices to deal with tour operatorso Group handling and seating arrangementso The provision of on-site information and assistance for visitors, ando Packages for visitors, with accommodations, interpretive materials, etc.From the artistic perspective, it is important that creativity be allowed to flow. There isresponsibility on both sides to create the right fit. Effective communication is required betweenthe tourism, arts and culture sectors to ensure there is a shared vision of what is realistic andpractical from a tourism perspective, while at the same time protecting cultural integrity andcreative expression.These considerations need to be applied to both professional and community-based products.THE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study