Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 243 -regions and destination areas. And, it may well be that some of the project ideas on this listare found, on further evaluation, to not be worthy of pursuit.St. John’s and AreaA city destination with a range of accommodation, dining, shopping, and entertainment.Signal Hill and Cape Spear are major attractions in St. John’s and along with facilities such asthe GeoCentre and The Rooms, and activities such as the Grand Concourse and boat tours,provide a range of things to see and do. And, as noted above, many visitors stay in St. John’sand take day trips around the Avalon Peninsula.St. John’s is an important destination for group tours, although with the recent increase inconvention and meeting activity in the city, tour operators are reporting difficulties in gettingaccommodations at certain times. Special events such as the Junos, the East Coast MusicAwards and sporting activities have increased the profile of the city and help to generatebusiness during the winter months.A number of initiatives have been identified for St. John’s so as to better service its visitormarkets, and to help generate more activity in the early/late shoulder periods and in the wintermonths.Suggested Tourism Development Ideas Worthy of Further Consideration° Provincial visitor information services at the airport, possibly in association with AVCB° Visitor information services in downtown St. John’s, possibly as a partnership betweenthe City and the Province.° New directional signage program – in, to/from St. John’s and other parts of the Avalonalong with an improved and expanded city map & street signs.° Getaway and learning packages based around experiences such as entertainment, theatre,other cultural experiences, dining, shopping, Grand Concourse walking experience forspring, late fall and winter.° City/region guided and self-guided sightseeing tours.° Build on the Geo Centre with outreach programs and events, to other locations around theAvalon as well as elsewhere in the province.° A Natural History Interpretation Centre for the Avalon – in a central, hub location basedon and linked to the unique natural attractions of the region. The preferred location is to bedetermined and it may well be outside the urban core. (See discussion earlier in Section6)Brigus/Cupids/Port de GraveA historic town that retains much of its heritage character, Brigus is home to HawthorneCottage, a National Historic Site and is an appealing stop-over for a part of the day. NearbyCupids with its museum and active archaeological dig at the first official English colony inCanada complements the Brigus experience. Visitor services, particularly accommodations,are limited in this area as is the range of additional things to see and do. The consulting teamTHE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study