Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 205 -" TrainingTraining and awareness-raising is needed at different levels to ensure quality visitorexperiences. This can include:- Basic hospitality training for community groups and people such as the gas stationoperator and staff of the general store, and- Training in preservation of cultural and natural heritage for people such as heritageguides and interpreters." For tourism operators or prospective entrepreneurs, initiatives can include focusedseminars or best practice trips to communities experiencing tourism success. The GrosMorne Institute for Sustainable Tourism Centre in Gros Morne National Park and thecentre of excellence for cultural and heritage tourism proposed in this strategy canperform valuable roles here." Planning ProcessIt is important for tourism industry people to get involved in planning for development ofthe industry (low participation by business people has been a problem in the past). Thereis a lot of work to be done; eg, in entrepreneurial development, resource managementissues, community capacity building and the planning of corridors such as the TransLabrador Highway. There needs to be groups formed and empowered to deal with majorissues such as these. And throughout both the planning and implementation stages, therewill be many opportunities for creative partnerships between, for example, aboriginaldevelopment organizations, government agencies and private business interests.3) Lodge-Based TourismPrivate lodges have been established in the Labrador wilderness in locations such as the EagleRiver watershed since the 1960s. Licensed commercial lodges were built starting in the 1970sand today there are around 80 such establishments across Labrador. They are located as farnorth as Saglek Bay near the Torngat Mountains, south to Forteau in the Straits and to Menihekin Labrador West.The majority are sport fishing operations, with significant numbers of hunting lodges in the northand west (particularly for caribou and black bear). They offer week-long packages averagingUS$3,000.00 - $3,500.00. In 2002, they reported having hosted 1,849 guests, with receiptstotalling CAN$5.8M. A few offer snowmobiling during the winter season but none appear to befully into the adventure market, which suggests business opportunities, given the growth of thismarket globally. A very limited number are considered to be high-end and possibly 20% or somay be suitable candidates for conversion to non-consumptive use. The current factors affectingthe future of outfitting lodges include the following:THE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study