It takes a lot of time and effort to get to N.L. Our tourism strategy should embrace the hardship
CBC
This satirical column is by Edward Riche, a St. John's writer.
MEMO
From: Penny Petipas-Nolan, chair, Tourism subcommittee, Newfoundland and Labrador 2041 Working GroupTo: Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
Re: Here from There
On news that WestJet is significantly curtailing their service to Newfoundland and Labrador and in light of continuing disruption in Marine Atlantic service to the mainland it is well time to reconsider our larger tourism strategy.
That there will be fewer ways to and from the province and that those routes remaining will be more costly (given their history of predatory commercial practices we can anticipate Air Canada steeply increasing ticket prices in the near term) is inescapable. That we must discreetly withdraw the generally open invitation to visitors, and replace it with a more narrow call to a niche adventure tourist market, is clear.
We have to capitalize on the fact that it is extremely difficult and costly to come here from almost anywhere, making a virtue of our increasing isolation from the main. We have to begin targeting the sort of travellers more interested in Antarctica or North Korea than, say, Nova Scotia.
There are silver linings in this change in circumstance. No European tourist who has flown 3,000 kilometres west of St. John's, via one of the most unreliable airports in the world, Pearson, only to fly 3,000 kilometres back the way they came, is going to arrive with high expectations of levels of service. If you've had to fly that far past your destination to double back, you are hardly going to expect rental vehicles and taxis at the airport or anywhere fit to eat.
Fewer tourists will mean fewer Airbnbs, freeing up some places to fill gaps in the tight St. John's rental market.
Expanding the Torbay airport terminal building before seeking out new users does, in hindsight, resemble a cargo cult. But there is nothing to stop the space being repurposed as retail or storage.
Exploring whether carriers other than those from Montreal or Calgary might be attracted to use YYT would take some initiative from those responsible so is unlikely to occur.
Remember: It's good for business, not a disaster!
How we can spin this as "good for business" rather than "a catastrophe" has been, for the past weeks, the preoccupation of the best minds (OK, "mind") in the department and she is still drawing a blank.
The argument could be made, and this will appeal to some young townie utopians, that the consequent decline in business taken with the decrease in fuel consumed getting here and leaving can only be good for the environment. Our carbon footprint will be as kitten tracks in the freshly fallen snow. This change in approach to enterprise will rankle anyone with even a glimmer of ambition but they remain a tiny minority.
Ottawa will provide an additional $1.17 billion to Alberta in order to extend the federal-provincial subsidized child-care program for another year.
Toronto has cancelled an automated traffic enforcement pilot intended to help fight congestion in the wake of the provincial government’s ban on speed cameras in Ontario, CBC Toronto has learned.
Some Tahltan First Nation members in northern B.C. are raising concerns about the timing of an “upfront payment” from a mining company ahead of a crucial vote on the Eskay Creek mine.
To illustrate the incredible upheaval that federal politics in Canada has experienced over the last 12 months, one could do worse than to simply look at the last two Liberal caucus holiday parties.
Alberta’s auditor general says he was denied information he requested from the Department of Municipal Affairs while attempting to assess flood mitigation systems.
Flooding in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, caused by overflow from the Nooksack River in Washington state, is expected to reach its peak Friday, as highways and some schools remain closed and residents assess the damage.
Three Scottish men accused in the 2023 killing of Ontario restaurant owner Sharif Rahman after a dispute over an unpaid bill appeared in an Owen Sound court Friday morning after their extradition to Canada.
A provincially appointed supervisor has fired the director of education at Ontario's largest school board, amid a shakeup of board governance by the education minister.
A Calgary Transit shuttle bus went up in flames Friday morning.
Four decades after the deadliest aviation crash on Canadian soil, two Americans who lost loved ones in the Arrow Air disaster say they needed to visit Gander to share their gratitude with those who feel their grief.
It’s been a year of relearning how to live for a 41-year-old Wawa woman.
Prospectors staked claims around Nova Scotia in high numbers this year after Premier Tim Houston unveiled his new open-arms approach to natural resource development.
The Holt Liberals have found a way to keep their promise of lower gas prices just days before Christmas.