North East Avalon Tourism Destination Visitor Appeal Appraisal Realizing the Possibilities
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North East Avalon Tourism Destination Visitor Appeal Appraisal Realizing the Possibilities TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: NORTH EAST AVALON REGION Map of the North East Avalon Region Submitted by: Tourism Café Canada & Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (August 2016) ii TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: NORTH EAST AVALON REGION Executive Summary In 2009, the tourism industry and province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) released their vision to double tourism revenues to $1.58B by 2020. Titled Uncommon Potential: A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism (Vision 2020) this document has been a blueprint for growth in NL guided by seven strategic directions. Underpinning the Vision is respect for home, residents, travellers, communities and profitability. In March 2016, Vision 2020 was refreshed with updated the goals and objectives to reflect the accomplishments since the original release date in 2009, as well as the continued challenges heading into 2020. VISION STATEMENT Newfoundland and Labrador will be a leading tourism destination, offering an authentic and exotic experience, through the ‘creativity brand pillars of people, culture and the natural environment’. Uncommon Potential Strategic direction #4, experience development, is aimed at ensuring NL delivers memorable, travel experiences to attract visitors from around the world. This is the key to delivering on the provincial brand promise and bringing the brand to life based on the assets and attributes of a diverse array of natural and cultural heritage combined with the colorful character of the people. To guide the regional strategic investments in product, experience and destination development, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador (HNL) in partnership with the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Regional Development (BTCRD) and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), commissioned a customized Tourism Destination Visitor Appeal Appraisal (TDVAA) to be completed in each region. Led by Brain Trust Marketing and Communications and The Tourism Café Canada, the project team included HNL, BTCRD, ACOA and the North East Avalon (NEA) Primary Stakeholder Committee representing the NEA regional destination marketing and economic development organizations. The over-arching goals were to create an understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen the ability to grow the tourism industry in ways that: 1) Resonate with travelers, reinforce the brand and increase the return on investment; 2) Continue to improve the visitor experience and visitor economy; and 3) Empower the region to be a visible leader of responsible, sustainable tourism. Designed to take a visitor-centric approach, this study reviewed 18 documents, reports and studies combined, plus data from the Tourism Destination Management System (TDMS) and Restaurant Association of NL’s (RANL) e-dining databases. This 14-month process (March 2015 – May 2016) incorporated insights from community and online stakeholder sessions from March 1st and 2nd, 2015 for the launch of the project, a return to the region for the follow-up stakeholder sessions in January 2016 and concluding with various Advisory Committee and government stakeholder sessions to refine the recommendations throughout the winter and spring of 2016. The TDVAA process in the NEA region took on a slightly different organizational approach. Unlike the other four regions where work was led by the regional Destination Management Organization, the NEA region was led by a Primary Stakeholder Committee (PSC) that included, Destination St. John’s (DSJ) and six sub-regional areas represented by their economic development or tourism officers (Town of Conception Bay South, Paradise, Torbay, Portugal Cove-St. Philips, the City of St. John’s and City of Mount Pearl). Representatives from these municipalities served to represent a number of other smaller municipalities within the region. The role of this Committee is to serve as advisors and immediate “voice on the ground” working with the Regional Destination Project Lead and the TDVAA Advisory Committee. Specifically, the TDVAA examined five dimensions using qualitative and quantitative data: Submitted by: Tourism Café Canada & Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (August 2016) iii TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: NORTH EAST AVALON REGION 1. Reports, plans and research documents, and projects-in-the-pipeline. 2. Visitor profile information and three customer engagement tools for tourism services and attractions and municipalities: Websites, Facebook and TripAdvisor. 3. Product and market dimensions which included primary and secondary demand generators, transportation and access, visitor information centers, accommodations, culture, heritage and nature based assets, trails and routes, recreational and man-made attractions, shopping and retail, culinary, food and beverage, conference, conventions and trade shows, activity-based tourism businesses (e.g. whale watching) and program based tourism businesses (e.g. festivals and events, guiding companies). 4. Sustainability dimensions which included human resources, sales and marketing practices, environmental and social practices, strategic planning and investment. 5. Measures of success against which progress is measured and new variables are considered that would enrich understanding and decision-making. Benefits of the Assessment “A successful visitor economy requires managing all of the components in an integrated and long-term way, with a clear focus on the needs of the visitors the destination is seeking to attract.”1 The core benefit from the TDVAA is that it provides a Figure 1: The Tourism Experience Investment Cycle consolidated review and key findings to guide the strategic direction for optimizing the tourism investment cycle (Figure 1) and the tactical investments for destination development. In the NEA region, this is critical for tourism-based projects, but also the many regional development initiatives that benefit people, communities and visitors alike, such as strengthening inter-community collaboration with a visitor focus, continuing to invest in key experience development and targeted infrastructure products, raising the bar on the quality and services in the region and optimizing the online presence of businesses and municipalities. All of these initiatives will have an impact on tourism to a greater or lesser degree and have been considered in this NEA region TDVAA. 1 Culture Northwest (2006). Understanding the visitor economy. Downloaded from: http://culturehive.co.uk/wp- content/uploads/2013/04/Understanding-the-Visitor-Economy.pdf Submitted by: Tourism Café Canada & Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (August 2016) iv TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: NORTH EAST AVALON REGION Key Findings Fifteen aggregate key findings emerged from the analysis of the primary and secondary data sources (Chapter 4) and the iterative feedback process that ensured continual stakeholder input and validation through the 14-month process. Each key finding, detailed in Chapter 3, is supported by tactical actions that provide the foundation for operators, municipalities, DSJ, BTCRD, ACOA, HNL and others. Finding #1: St. John’s and the North East Avalon region is the iconic gateway to the province, yet the fragmented and ad hoc approach to tourism development is not helping optimize the region’s true potential. Finding #2: St. John’s and its tourism partners are well positioned to initiate a long-term downtown stewardship strategy for the benefit of visitors and locals alike. Finding #3: St. John’s and its surrounding communities provide visitors with an ideal opportunity for ‘hub and spoke’ visitor experiences and activities. Finding # 4: A renovated and revitalized George Street will provide the ideal visitor welcome to NL and the North East Avalon region. Finding #5: The region’s culture and heritage attractions have greater potential to attract visitors, especially outside of peak season. Finding #6: Nature and activity-based businesses have the opportunity to augment their product offering with new experiences that respond to demands of the more discerning traveller. Finding #7: Amplifying and celebrating the unique culinary and musical talent is a real opportunity to create a personal connection with visitors. Finding #8: Future tourism growth will be optimized by continuing to leverage the high-yield tourism sectors. Finding #9: There are fundamental service and transportation infrastructure gaps in the region’s tourism offering. Finding #10: There is untapped potential in the program- and people-based businesses that uniquely support the North East Avalon visitor experiences. Finding #11: There are several projects in the pipeline that, if strategically acted on, will enhance overall visitor appeal and contribute to enhancing the region’s attractiveness in peak and shoulder seasons. Finding #12: The long-term sustainability of tourism in the region is fraught with human resource challenges particularly when it comes to attracting and retaining staff. Finding #13: There is an opportunity to enhance operators’ online presence and better leverage online tools including websites, TripAdvisor and Facebook to drive tourism visitation and revenues. Finding #14: The province is making steady progress with enhancing the integration of the TDMS and e- dining databases to improve the marketing potential for businesses and visitors alike. Finding #15: Partners of the Newfoundland and