The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation:

2013 Proves to be Another Positive Tourism Season for Newfoundland and Labrador

Mr. Speaker, our government remains focused on the province’s long-term prosperity by encouraging job creation, strong communities, a vibrant economy and natural resource development that benefits all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Our tourism industry is a major economic generator in Newfoundland and Labrador and is a sustainable industry that delivers maximum economic, social, and cultural value to communities all throughout our province.

Once again, this year has proven to be another successful tourism season in Newfoundland and Labrador. In terms of our tourism performance to the end of August this year, the number of non-resident automobile and air visitors to the province is up over 2012. The number of non-resident air visitors to the province increased 2.1 per cent over the same time period last year, and occupancy rates reached 53.2 per cent, an increase of 1.6 per cent over 2012 levels. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, Visitor Information Centres reported more than 117,500 visitors for the period ending September 2013, representing an increase of 3.6 per cent over last year’s statistics.

Mr. Speaker, our online presence continues to grow as well, with visits to NewfoundlandLabrador.com up 24 per cent over last year. In fact, website visits for 2013 have now exceeded 1.6 million, and visits to tourism operator sites on NewfoundlandLabrador.com have increased by almost 30 per cent. Our social media fan base also continues to grow year after year, and our online communities are more engaged than ever in terms of likes, comments and views. As an example, our Youtube views increased from approximately 361,000 to close to 1.4 million.

With the guidance of our ten year strategy Uncommon Potential – A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, government and industry are taking provincial tourism to unprecedented levels of success and showing tourism to be a growing economic powerhouse in our province. Tourism spending reached $1 billion for the first time in 2011, putting us ahead of schedule for achieving our Vision 2020 goal of $1.6 billion in spending.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate another year of growth for our tourism industry, we take pride in knowing we have firmly established Newfoundland and Labrador as a premiere tourism destination.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2013 11 06                                     2:30 p.m.