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NLIS 7
March 1, 2001
(Industry, Trade and Rural Development)

 

Tourism project for Burin Peninsula

The Heritage Run Tourism Association and its partners have initiated the planning and preliminary design for the construction of a number of viewparks in various locations along the Burin Peninsula highway and "around the boot." The four to eight interpretative viewparks will serve as rest-stops for travelers and visitors, provide a venue to interpret the natural landscape/ history of the region as well as provide directional signage and information on other key tourist attractions in the region.

Funding, in the amount of $80,500, through the Canada-Newfoundland Agreement for the Economic Development Component of the Canadian Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring Initiative was announced today by area MP Bill Matthews and Minister of Industry, Trade and Rural Development, Beaton Tulk.

"With the number of tourists visiting the Burin Peninsula increasing, it is important to tap into this interest and promote all the area has to offer," said Mr. Matthews. "This initiative will provide tourists with information that will help guide their visits to the Burin Peninsula and encourage them to stay longer in the area."

"With these viewparks the Burin Peninsula is developing its tourism industry and helping to diversify its regional economy through the creation of new business opportunities and, ultimately, the creation of new jobs," said Minister Tulk. 

Heritage Run Chair Blake Cryderman said: "These viewparks will be equitably and strategically distributed around the Burin Peninsula which provides a perfect opportunity to highlight all the tourism features of the region while also promoting Fortune Head as a destination of choice."

Fortune Mayor Charles Penwell said: "The project will dovetail nicely with our overall interpretive plans for the ecological reserve at Fortune Head. With its fossils that date back 530 million years, Fortune Head Ecological Reserve holds great tourism appeal on the Burin Peninsula." 

Common Ground Heritage Planning, a consulting firm with expertise in community development and heritage planning, has been contracted by the Heritage Run Tourism Association to hold public consultations, to identify suitable sites, and to carry out preliminary site assessments.

This project was initiated by the Town of Fortune in the mid-1990s as a part of their master plan to develop an interpretative package for Fortune Head Ecological Reserve. The Schooner Regional Development Corporation has also recognized the significance of the regional economic development board for the Burin Peninsula Fortune Head site in its strategic development plan for the region.

The three-year $81.25 million Canada-Newfoundland Agreement for the Economic Development Component of the Canadian Fisheries Adjustment and Restructuring Initiative was signed on August 16, 1999. The agreement is designed to build upon the strategic plans and priorities of the regional economic development boards to improve the long-term economic climate in regions impacted by the downturn in the groundfish industry. 

It is delivered federally by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and provincially by the Department of Industry, Trade and Rural Development.

Media contact:

Doug Burgess 
Director, Public Affairs, ACOA
(709) 772-2935

Blake Cryderman, Chair
Heritage Run Tourism Association
(709) 891-1253

Clifford Grinling
Industry, Trade and Rural Development
(709) 729-7066

2001 03 01                                      3:30 p.m.


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