Letter to the Editor -
(Copy of a letter sent to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Association by the Viking Trail Tourism Association)
Dear Mr. Grandy,
The Viking Trail Tourism Association (VTTA) would like to thank you for taking the time to review and reply to the proposal that our association had submitted. Receiving the letter informing us that the proposal, file 620-2796-195424, was closed and not approved for funding was terribly disappointing to say the least.
Gros Morne National Park has received a visitation of 174,000 people during the 2009 season, while L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site received 27,323. It was the intent of the VTTA, with the submitted proposal, to try to utilize all possible tools and resources to help with the growth of the tourism sector by providing relevant geographic trail information to the Western DMO for their online implementation. These online maps would make the hiking/walking exploration product, which is available north of Gros Morne National Park, accessible to those visitors and possibly entice them to stay longer and travel further north for the benefit of us all. The VTTA envisions this project as a way to better utilize our partner relationship with the Western DMO and allow for the whole region to be effectively marketed to its full potential.
It was very disturbing for our association to be informed by the Western DMO that they will no longer be employing regional staff people, in these rural areas, to work with the businesses in our region. The VTTA has taken a nonexistent role in tourism marketing since the implementation of the Western DMO and with the recent developments of them now only employing two staff people, we feel that they will have major difficulties carrying out the intended marketing and promotion that a region such as the Viking Trail requires. The area that the Western DMO is responsible for is absolutely immense in size and geographic proportions are indeed a factor that needs to be considered. In our opinion, the Western DMO ultimately requires significant help from the organizations that are within their region, such as ours, both in product development and communication of what market ready products are available. It is imperative that you understand that without paid personnel to work with our businesses and organizations in these rural areas, the intended common goal of regional tourism growth and development will not be accomplished.
In February of 2009, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, the Honorable Clyde Jackman, unveiled a strategic plan titled "Uncommon Potential: A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism" (Vision 2020). This new vision outlines the strategic directions that need to be addressed in order to build the tourism sector in the Province within the next decade and double annual tourism revenues by 2020. Without adequate personnel to work with businesses and organizations along the Viking Trail, we feel that this goal cannot possibly be met and we hope that your organization will see the value of contributing funding to our organization for a resource person to work with us and help us achieve our ultimate goal of sustainable tourism for Newfoundland, Labrador and the Viking Trail.
Kindest Regards,
Barb Genge, President
Viking Trail Tourism Association
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