Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 285 -further list of other project ideas that were identified for each region and area, but that are notbeing advanced by the consultants for further consideration, is provided in Appendix II.It is important to note that the list below is not necessarily comprehensive. There may verywell be other projects that fit with the overall strategy that should be considered in the variousregions 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.Top of the Viking Trail (St. Anthony and North, centred on L’Anse aux Meadows)Anchored by a UNESCO World Heritage Site, L’Anse aux Meadows, and several other majorattractions including, The Grenfell Centre and Norstead, this area offers a range of otherexperiences including watchable wildlife (whales, moose, seals), icebergs, and Burnt CapeEcological Reserve. St. Anthony is the service centre of the area with a number of smallerheritage communities such as Raleigh developing tourism experiences and interpretativeprograms. Some of the services in St. Anthony are constraining the further development oftourism in the area. One example is the need for additional car rental capacity and the abilityto drop off vehicles in St. Anthony which is not now possible.The area is seeing increasing visitation, as evidenced by attendance levels at L’Anse auxMeadows which reached 33,000 in 2003, a slight increase from 2002 levels but up from23,000 in 1998. Grenfell Museum receives 12,000 or so visitors a year. This area alsoreceives a number of bus tour visits, however most of them stay at Plum Point due tochallenges with the accommodation plant (capacity and quality) in the St. Anthony area.These challenges are also impacting the ability of the area to further develop as a destinationfor visitors.The Gros Morne area (see discussion below) also has a number of challenges with respect toaccommodation capacity, particularly with respect to demand-influencing and qualityproperties. Given that both of these Tier 1 destination areas have accommodation issues thatneed to be addressed, it is recommended that accommodation plans be prepared for the Top ofthe Viking Trail and the Gros Morne area, identifying preferred locations and the types ofproperties that would be appropriate in each location. This report could then be used as abasis for pro-active efforts to solicit new accommodations development in these areas.The Labrador Straits area is discussed in the Labrador section of this report. However, itshould be considered as an extension of the Viking Trail and be promoted as such.Suggested Tourism Development Ideas Worthy of Further Considerationo Evening entertainment and activities, including at L’Anse aux Meadows – such as theViking Feast, also concerts, theatre, tours,o Burnt Cape Interpretation Centre° Additional food and beverage services° Strengthen the Iceberg Festival in St. AnthonyTHE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study