June 30, 1998
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Provincial cruiseship authority created

Legislation passed in the House of Assembly June 5, 1998 to establish a comprehensive cruiseship authority will greatly enhance provincial overtures for cruiseship business, says Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Sandra Kelly.

Entitled the "Cruiseship Authority of Newfoundland and Labrador" (CANAL), it will pursue organized, large-scale development of cruiseship business for the province.

"CANAL stems from the vision of the Johnson Family Foundation, and seeks to build upon the significant achievements of past cruise-marketing endeavours," Kelly said. "This public-private partnership will seek to involve all major stakeholders in the province's cruiseship sector, and will have the support of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador."

Under the terms of the Cruiseship Authority Act, the body will initially consist of the Harbours and Ports Directorate of Transport Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the St. John's Port Corporation, the Cities of St. John's and Corner Brook, the Towns of St. Anthony and Botwood, the Johnson Family Foundation, and the provincial government, represented by the Departments of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and Works, Services and Transportation. Other members, especially new ports of call, will be added as the authority evolves.

"Recent promotional efforts to better position the province within the cruise industry have produced very favourable results," says Paul Johnson of the Johnson Family Foundation. "The CANAL endeavour would be a concerted effort to develop, promote and monitor the provincial cruiseship sector so that the focus is on a consistent, high quality tourism product, with emphasis on the maximum benefit for local businesses operating in the ports of call."

Under the proposal put forward by the Johnson Family Foundation, the foundation's financial contribution would be matched by the provincial government for a period of three years, while additional sources of funding would also be pursued. It is intended that CANAL would become a self-supporting entity within that time frame.

"With the legislative creation of the cruiseship authority, the next step is to develop a master plan in consultation with all board members," the minister said, noting that cruiseship promotions generally require a two to three year lead, and the authority is eager to capitalize on celebrations around the Viking Millennium and beyond.

"As envisaged, CANAL will spearhead a fully-integrated effort that will maximize funds and the province's cruise marketing ability," Kelly said. "CANAL will help elevate our cruise ship sector to a new level to meet the demands of the global cruise market, and position our province as a primary destination for cruise ship lines."

Contact:

Doug Burgess
Director of Communications
(709) 729-0928

Richard Parsons, Chair
Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador Association
(709) 772-4667

1998 06 30 12:50 p.m.