Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 182 -flexibility in this regard. This situation also means that renters are not being allowed to drop offvehicles outside of the island, as the company has no means of recovering the vehicle.Another issue is unlimited mileage. Renters are often unable to get this option, which can drivethe cost up substantially.The solutions to these challenges are not obvious or simple. But here are a few possibilities:o Perhaps cars could be borrowed from operators in the southern USA where summer is theoff season. We don’t know how feasible this might be, but it would be worth lookingfurther into this possibility. Maybe the corporate franchisors could assist with this idea.o Another possibility is for Newfoundland operators to acquire used vehicles from thefranchisor corporation when they are made available for sale. This would provide nearlynew vehicles at low cost that could be used seasonally.o A third possibility is providing financing assistance to make it feasible to expand rentalfleets beyond current levelsHNL should continue consulting with the car rental companies in these respects.RV vehicle rentals are another challenge. There appears to be only one company renting RVs inthe province and they are in short supply. This is a deterrent particularly for the Europeanmarket which has a higher than average interest in this. Perhaps one or more of the foregoingpossibilities would work for RVs as well.MotorcoachesThere are two companies operating motorcoaches in the province and making them available forcharter to tour operators. Many of the vehicles are in poor and unreliable condition, which hasforced tour operators in many cases to bring in coaches from other provinces, mainly NewBrunswick, at high cost because of the deadheading involved. (The larger of the two operators inthe province, DRL, has a large part of its fleet dedicated to serving cruise ships visiting Halifaxwhich is growing in volume, so its fleet has been spread thin.)This is an obstacle to growing the group travel sector. We would recommend, therefore, thatHNL and government agencies work proactively to get the local companies to expand andupgrade their fleets. And unreliable vehicles should be retired.TaxisThere are several taxi issues that deserve attention.First of all, the Taxi Host program is being used in St. John’s and that is an excellent initiative inimproving the professional and hospitality skills of drivers. It should be continued.THE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study