Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 183 -Other issues needing attention include:o Types of cars being used. Compacts and K car bodies are not suitable for taxis in thattheir back seats are too cramped.o Standards of maintenance, cleanliness and age of vehicles.A program deserving of consideration for St. John’s is Halifax’s ‘hotel standard’ for taxis beingallowed to pick up at hotels. This is an initiative of the hotels themselves. All hotel standardtaxis are of good size, clean and in good repair and are regularly inspected in this regard. This isof particular benefit to tourists, at is them staying at the hotels.Environmental ConservationForestry practices, unrestricted use of crown lands by individuals and the absence of controls ondevelopment are causing degradation in the natural environment and this has a direct negativeeffect on tourism, and particularly tourism in this province, which is heavily dependent on itsnatural attractions.ForestryProblems are everywhere, and increasing, mainly from forestry for pulp and paper and lumber,but also from firewood harvesting by individuals. Kruger has participated in planning exercises,but has not agreed to any special management in any strategic areas. Clear cutting down to thehighway, to the edge of Gros Morne National Park are examples of serious problems directlyaffecting tourism .Clear cutting is an established practise in forestry, however, there needs to be buffer zones toavoid negative impact on national and provincial parks, tourism establishments and activityareas, and view-planes in icon natural attraction areas.Also, forestry has a direct impact on watersheds and impacts the natural environment and thisaffects tourism.Integrated Resource ManagementOther jurisdictions engage in a process called ‘Integrated Resource Management’ (IRM). This isa system whereby planning for resource allocation and use is subject to consultation andplanning. Increasingly the tourism sector is becoming involved in this and having input. Thiswas discussed earlier in Section 4.Newfoundland and Labrador needs to adopt an IRM system, and as soon as possible, and itshould be a system in which tourism, a key stakeholder, would have input. Nova Scotia’sTourism Partnership Council had an IRM Task Force, which has now become a permanentworking group to address this issue in the province. This task force undertook the developmentof a provincial ‘tourism values’ model for input into their IRM process. It essentially assessedlands in terms of the current and future values for different types of tourism activity. The reportTHE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study