Lessons from Newfoundland

During the self-guided tour of the $12-million underground geological interpretation centre this tourism development officer for the Municipality of Argyle and Yarmouth and Acadian Shores imagined something similar for this region. “The site is really a showcase piece for the geological features of Newfoundland – being built into the side of Signal Hill,” she said. “It made me think about some of our most relevant geological significant areas – our fishing grounds. These of course are not visible but are an important aspect of why we are the richest fishing area in the province. Visitors could learn about ocean depths, shoals, effect of tides, etc. and their impact on our fishery,” she said.

The geological attraction was one of many sites that LaGrandeur visited this fall as part of the Living History and Cultural Tourism

Best Practices Mission in the Eastern Region of Newfoundland.

She and 16 other tourism participants also visited The Rooms provincial museum in St. John’s - a union of the Provincial Museum, Art Gallery and Archives. Since combining, there has been an overall increase in visitation of 75 per cent to the site. Approximately 100 are employed here and an annual budget of $6 million is allotted.

An Open Minds School Program enables students to visit the Rooms for a full week. Free traveling Edu-kits are available to schools and contain a variety of artifacts, learning resources, lesson plans and activity sheets.

LaGrandeur noted that during the Door Open day, buildings that are normally closed to the public or charge an entrance fee welcome visitors to look around for free. In its first year – 2003 – 16 sites received over 27,500 visits. “We could look at promoting a Door Open day here in Yarmouth and Acadian Shores or perhaps even have it promoted province wide,” she said.

A presentation by tourism representatives Juanita Keel-Ryan and Jerry Dick identified the challenge of finding a qualified workforce. One solution is to use a variety of senior employment programs.

In Trinity, LaGrandeur explored a heritage preservation district that covers two-thirds of the town. Here, exterior colours for houses are recommended. Detailed photos of dilapidated buildings are taken before they are torn down to ensure new structures are as close to the original as possible.

A theatrical highlight in Trinity is the New Founde Lande Trinity Pageant, a moving play and successful tourism product that is performed twice a week throughout the summer. “It would be very interesting to access funding to commission somebody to write a play based on actual historical events,” said LaGrandeur. “I loved the idea of a moving play where the spectators would actually follow along with the actors – our stunning outdoor sites at the Village historique, Cape Forchu and even Belliveau Cove or Point a Majeur would be ideal settings for a play of this type.”

One of the highlights of LaGrandeur’s trip was a stop at Fisher Loft Inn. The four-and-a-half star complex offers many highly creative “small touches” in its rooms that she recorded.

Beautiful pre-stamped postcards with images of the inn compel guests to use them, thus providing great promotion for the Inn.

Tastefully wrapped granola bars are placed next to the phone with a recipe attached to a small card to welcome.

Binoculars encourage visitors to look out their window and beyond to enjoy the local scenery.

Umbrellas are a thoughtful provision that invite guests to go out and enjoy the weather even if it is a little damp.

Artwork in each room is a result of a barter between local artists – their work in exchange for meals and lodging.

Something La Grandeur found commendable is that Fisher Loft Inn uses ex-fish plant workers and fishermen for many positions on staff.

In Elliston, a search for the town’s niche in the tourism market revealed it had a notable number of root cellars. The town now promotes itself as the Root Cellar Capital of the World and has an annual root cellar festival.

Hearing about innovative ideas like these has got LaGrandeur thinking. “What I came up with were the superstitions that our fishermen have. If there was a way that these superstitions and the stories surrounding them could be delivered to our visitors, I feel that we would be bringing an authentic story and product to light and that the locals could definitely deliver as they live this every day,” she said.

During several field trips, LaGrandeur noticed interpretive staff were in period costume, even the baby of a staff member that was asleep in a cradle. “This really made me think that some of our guides should possibly take this approach. For example, instead of having a guide take people through the Tusket Courthouse, it would be so much better if the staff person was presenting himself as the jailor who looked after the site. He could tell his perspective of the prisoners, the conditions of the building, the judges who came through and even his thoughts on some of the trials that had gone on,” she said.

The Best Practices Mission that LaGrandeur participated in is one of several that are offered year round. She believes they are an extremely cost effective way for tourism operators to learn from the very best. “I truly believe that strong partnerships between operators and the communities are what will grow our tourism industry. Taking advantage of opportunities such as this one gives us a back stage peek at operators and places that are doing it right.”

For more information about upcoming missions, visit www.tourismbestpractices.com