February 8, 1996
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)
New tourism initiatives announced
New initiatives designed to make Newfoundland and Labrador more competitive in the
international tourism marketplace were unveiled this past weekend at the 13th annual
Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador conference in Gander.
Following a luncheon address by Premier Brian Tobin, a memorandum of understanding was signed by NewTel, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, and government for the implementation of a new Tourism Destination Management System (TDMS) for the province. "The TDMS project will have two, simultaneous functions. Tourists will be able to firstly, access information about the province," the premier said. "Secondly, with this advanced system, we will have the ability to close the sale and book accommodations once the individual has gathered the necessary information."
"NewTel and Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador have been working with government since 1994 to develop this type of information and reservation system for the province," Bob Newell, Vice President, NewTel said. "This is a more sophisticated and modern information mechanism and a tremendous improvement on the existing paper and telephone data collection system. Tourism destinations which are truly internationally competitive have adopted a similar approach to reservation booking and tourism management."
The Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation publicly released a complete project outline for the 1997 anniversary celebrations at the weekend conference. The document identifies the scope of the anchor, regional and communities events and a comprehensive timetable for the entire year.
"These celebrations are alive and well and on schedule for 1997," Roger Grimes, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation said. "This outline will provide tourism operators with advance information regarding the dates of festivals and major events so that they can make appropriate plans for their individual businesses," Mr. Grimes said.
At the conference, the premier also announced $22.85 million from the Economic Renewal Agreement for tourism initiatives including: nine interpretation facilities; marketing support; reservation system; support for cultural festivals; marketing the province as a film, video and audio location; 1997 events support; Newfoundland T'railway; and support for historic pageants.
Contact: Laura Cochrane, Public Relations Director, (709) 729-0928, or fax: (709) 729-0870.
| 1996 06 08 | 11:10 p.m. |
