Tourism in Newfoundland and Labrador has grown significantly in the past 15 years and EPG played a role in setting the stage for this growth. In 2002 we reviewed the tourism marketing strategy and made a strong case for a substantial increase in the budget – a case that helped increase the tourism marketing budget from around $4 million to over $12 million. Earlier, we did a Product Market Match Study which highlighted the province’s key appeals with market potential. A comprehensive product development strategy – ‘A Special People, A Special Place’ explored needs and opportunities for the growth of the tourism sector.

This strategy assessed specific opportunities for both paddling and cycling across the region, as well as overall strategies for enhancing the visitor experience and building a presence in the marketplace for these activities.

Working for Ontario’s Wine Council and the Ministry of Tourism in the early days of the province’s wine and culinary tourism industry (2001), EPG prepared a strategy for growing wine and culinary tourism offerings, focusing on the Niagara Region.  The strategy led to a number of initiatives in the region, helping to lay the groundwork for its success over the past decade.

This project started with the basics – defining culinary and agri-tourism and inventorying products and experiences. The outcomes included:

• Market-readiness assessment tools based on standards for culinary and agri-tourism experiences
• Opportunities for product development
• Marketing strategies
• Business model

A longer term outcome was the re-making of the Taste of Nova Scotia and its merging with Nova Scotia Quality foods leading to a broader approach to encouraging tourism based on the province’s regional cuisine, wine and agriculture. EPG assisted with implementing several initiatives that evolved from this strategy.

We researched numerous niche market segments to identify tourism growth opportunities for the province.  An evaluation matrix helped identify priorities for both product and market development activities for segments with the best potential, given market trends and the province’s tourism resources.