Today I attended the Viking Trail Tourism Association’s Annual General Meeting at the Plum Point Motel. The chairs were filled tourism operators, employees, government workers and development organizations. We recognized our role and the role we have in advancing tourism on the Great Northern Peninsula. There was much talk of partnership, packaging and being creative!
The Viking Trail Tourism Association is a member-based non-profit industry association that promotes its members and the greater region since 1988 – entering a milestone of 25 years of service. It continues to purchase advertisements in magazines such as “Downhome” and “Sledworthy”, attend trade shows, and provide members updates. However, it recognizes that it must reach out beyond traditional means of print advertising and is also focusing efforts on the social media.
- Facebook Page: Viking Trail Tourism Association.
- Twitter/@vikingtrail
I encourage you to like/follow them and share with friends. Start interacting, ask questions and post your own travel experiences and stories about the Great Northern Peninsula. Visit www.vikingtrail.org/contact.php or email info@vtta.nf.ca if you would like to contribute, become a member and help this non-profit member-based group advance its tourism initiatives.
Today’s meeting got me once again thinking about marketing the rural experience…it’s sometimes the little things we do…
I recently stayed at the Battery Hotel & Suites, which has the most amazing view of St. John’s harbour, NL en route to Signal Hill. As I checked into my room, I had to pass Room 400 Flower’s Cove which is just 14 KM from my hometown and has a unique tourism experience of Thrombolites (living rocks), White Rocks Walking Trail, Marjorie Bridge, Seal Skin Boot Church, Flower’s Island Lighthouse, local foods and great conversations. I immediately felt at home! A place I truly could relate…I immediately told other guests about Flower’s Cove.
Despite the star marking the location of Flower’s Cove being a little too far south I thought this little marketing initiative was powerful. My own room was historic Cupids, the oldest continuously settled British Colony in Canada and the second oldest in North America – what a view the room boasts. Neddie’s Harbour Inn (www.theinn.ca) on the Great Northern Peninsula also has local names for their rooms.
Now imagine if each room at the Battery had content from across the Province. Why not have a story board of Flower’s Cove with local sights, history and stories inside Room 400? Let’s create a means to further cross-promote regions, businesses & attractions. There may be a role for the VTTA, Destination Management Organizations, Business & Department of Tourism, Culture & Recreation to find new creative ways to ensure we reach out in new ways to share the beauty of rural Newfoundland & Labrador.
I commend the VTTA and your efforts to date. I know you will work with your members and others to build upon the tens of thousands of tourists that experience Route 430: The Viking Trail every year.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore, MHA The Straits-White Bay NorthRelated articles
- Our Historic Raleigh in Newfoundland (not North Carolina) (liveruralnl.com)
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