Total tourism inquires up following broadcast of Random Passage

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, announced today that he is pleased with the overwhelming interest Canadians have in Random Passage, the CBC mini-series based on Bernice Morgan�s novels Random Passage and Waiting for Time.

"I think the numbers speak for themselves," said Minister Aylward. "I am extremely pleased with how many people viewed the mini-series. The increase in inquiries this province has received as a result of the Random Passage and the advertising shown during them reflecting the province�s distinctive beauty, demonstrates that the level of interest in this province and our culture and history continues to grow at a significant rate. This greatly impacts in a positive way on our vibrant and growing tourism industry. Events like the airing of Random Passage, The Shipping News and now Rare Birds, are an enhancement to the very strong and successful core marketing campaign that we have developed over the past four or five years which has contributed significantly to the growth of tourism in this province."

The first episode of Random Passage which aired Sunday, January 27, drew almost 1.2 million viewers. The preliminary numbers went up for the second night, Monday, January 28, with over 1.2 million viewers. The second episode was the second-most watched program of the evening in Canada following the CTV Evening News. Additionally, the Sunday, February 3 broadcast ranked first nationally with a total audience of 1,129,000 viewers and episode four on Monday, February 4 attracted 1,242,000 viewers. The televising of the mini-series was sponsored in part by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

That response has translated into an increase in inquiries about tourism in Newfoundland and Labrador. The total number of inquiries for January has increased 55 per cent over the same time last year. The Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation received over 760 inquiries which were directly related to the broadcast of Random Passage from its 1-800 line. There has also been a significant number of inquiries made through the Web site. By comparison in 1999, there were 513 inquiries related to the broadcast of the East Coast Music Awards held in St. John�s.

Contact can be made in the following ways:

Web: www.gov.nl.ca/tourism
E- mail: tourisminfo@mail.gov.nf.ca
Toll-free: 1-800-563 NFLD

Media contact: Catherina Kennedy, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

2002 02 08                           3:00 p.m.