Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 288 -Codroy Valley/Southwest CoastThis area encompasses the Cordroy Valley to the northwest of Port aux Basques as well as thesouth coast east of Port aux Basques to Rose Blanche lighthouse which has been developed asa tourist attraction by a community group. It also includes the Burgeo area which, whileremote, offers outstanding sea kayaking opportunities along with the beautiful beaches atSandbanks Provincial Park. Ferry access from Burgeo is provided to Ramea and along thesouth coast of the province.The Codroy Valley is a major migratory birding area and, although tourism here is largelyundeveloped, has some potential. A new ‘demand influencing’ style accommodation at thelighthouse at Cape Anguille may help to draw more traffic into this region.Port aux Basques is the prime auto traffic gateway into the province. Its tourism activity isheavily dependent on the ferry service and it is primarily a one night stop for travellers enroute to or from the ferry.Suggested Tourism Development Ideas Worthy of Further Considerationo Further to consideration to a Gateway Centre concept as part of a review of the entrance toNewfoundland and Labrador and the provision of visitor information services. Theoriginal concept proposed was ambitious - perhaps a more modest complex should beconsidered.ooGrow/further develop local eventsFurther packaging of outdoor adventure (sea kayaking, coastal cruising) in the BurgeoareaCentral Viking Trail – north of Shallow BayThis is a large area stretching from north of Gros Morne National Park to north of St. Barbe,the access point to the Labrador south coast. It includes Port au Choix National Historic Siteand area – this area has recently emerged as a priority project under a strategy on tourismopportunities being undertaken for the Viking Trail area. With the increasing appeal of theLabrador south coast, and the eventual opening up of the road through to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, this area can expect to see increasing visitation levels. Ferry traffic across theStraits of Belle Isle has been increasing steadily and there appears to be some accommodationcapacity issues beginning to occur as a result. The Plum Point area is a popular overnightdestination for motorcoach tours – and in fact has been identified as a bottleneck by somegroup tour operators since it is the only place north of Rocky Harbour that can accommodatemore than one tour at a time (and it can only hold two tours).A variety of other smaller scale initiatives are currently being investigated throughout thisstretch of the Viking Trail.Suggested Tourism Development Ideas Worthy of Further Considerationo Further development and enhancement of Port aux Choix including a Heritage MasterPlan, waterfront development, interpretive programming and possibly an economuseumTHE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study