Newfoundland and Labrador Product Development Strategy

- 54 -Argentia facility closes at the end of September after the last ferry run. In 2003, about130,000 visitors used the services of the provincial visitor information centres.There are a number of challenges with the provincial visitor information centres. They arelocated are in older, chalet style buildings with limited space for displays and brochure racks.In some cases, displays of local artifacts are also contained within the VICs, further limitingthe space available. Staff complements are limited by budget constraints and some facilitiesclose during certain hours/times when no staff are available.In addition to the provincial VICs, there are some 30 other visitor information centresoperated by regional, local and municipal groups and tourism organizations. Only four of theVICs operate year round – at St. John’s Airport, and in Gander, Corner Brook and LabradorWest. The other regional and local VICs generally operate for a shorter season than theprovincial facilities; they are eligible for an annual operating grant and also access federalsummer student employment programs (most of which have a July/August term).There is no provincially-operated visitor information centre in St. John’s. There is aninformation booth at St. John’s Airport that is operated by the AVCB and provides onlyliterature on members of the association, other than provincial collateral material such as thetravel guide and provincial map. This is an untenable situation and a disservice to visitorsgiven that St. John’s is a major gateway to the province, and research shows that many of thevisitors arriving at the airport travel extensively throughout the province. Visitors arriving atthe airport should be able to obtain detailed information on the entire province.The province and the City of St. John’s are currently discussing a jointly operated visitorinformation centre in downtown St. John’s. This is discussed further in Section 10.Industry and Marketplace PerspectivesThe consultants visited most of the provincially operated Visitor Information Centres duringthe course of our work, in part as ‘mystery shoppers’. Generally, reports were positive withthe centres appearing to be well managed, maintained and presented. The primary area ofconcern identified was a need for more extensive product knowledge, particularly as to whatwas open during the shoulder season which is when our field work was conducted. Staffcommented that the visitors arriving late and early in the season complain about the fact that alot of facilities and services are closed.Concerns were frequently expressed by industry about the quality and knowledge of staff atthe information centres (they did not distinguish between local/regionally operated centresand provincial centres). With many of the staff at the local/regional centres being studentsunder summer grant programs, there is little opportunity for the in-depth training that isnecessary for these types of positions. This challenge does not seem to be as severe at theprovincial centres where many of the staff are permanent, seasonal employees and return eachyear.THE ECONOMIC PLANNING GROUP of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Product DevelopmentD. W. Knight Associates Strategy and Accommodation Needs Study