Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 47 -Findings from the Field ResearchInterviews were conducted with a number of private and not-for-profit campground operatorsand visits were made to a variety of other campgrounds.Types of Campgrounds, Facilities and Services Providedo Most of the campgrounds interviewed were privately owned, with a number operated bynot-for-profit groups such as service clubs. All of the campgrounds offered a combinationof tenting and RV camping with most of them catering primarily to the transient market,with very limited seasonal camping.o Many of the campsites are very small, particularly when considering the size of the bigRV rigs now which are 38 feet plus and have slide out rooms on the sideo A number of the campgrounds in the province are no more than gravel pit camping withservices; on the other hand, there are some good quality private campgroundso Almost all of those visited provided adequate dump stationso Many had access to water, beaches or trails though few provided any real recreationalfacilities other than an open area and there was little or no recreational equipmentavailable.o About half provided services such as a snack bar or storeo Comfort stations are provided at almost all campgrounds, but in many cases the capacityis insufficient for the number of sites availableSite Services Providedo Only a small portion (about 10%) of the sites at the campgrounds visited were fullyserviced (i.e. water, electricity and sewage hook-up at the site); many campgrounds hadno fully serviced siteso About 70% - 75% of the sites at campgrounds visited were partially serviced (waterand/or electricity) with 15 – 30 amp service, water; the balance (10% - 25%) had noserviceso Most serviced sites were providing 15 – 30 amp power; a few provided 50 amps and somewere planning to add 50 amps (most operators agreed that the big RVs wanted 50 ampservice).o There were very few pull through sites, although some campgrounds are open enough toallow for thisOperationsSeason of Operationo A few campgrounds are open till mid-September; many closed after Labour Day –however, there appeared to be a significant number of recreational vehicles still travellingaround the provinceSite Rental Rateso Rates are very low – with semi-serviced sites renting for as low as $10 in some places;generally rates ranged from $16 to $23 for fully-serviced sites, $14 to $18 for partiallyserviced sites and $12 to $16 for unserviced sites, with one facility as low as $5 for aTHE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study