NL Tourism Board addresses Quality Assurance at Municipalities NL Conference

Article from The Wester Star
Published by: Cory Hurley
November 4, 2011

CORNER BROOK — A key to the continued growth of tourism in this province is living up to the visitor’s expectations, say industry representatives.

The province has increased its marketing budget and efforts in recent years, and the industry is reporting positive growth corresponding with that.

Stan Cook Jr., chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism Board; John Dicks, chair of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and Carmella Murphy, director of tourism marketing with the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation led a panel discussion Thursday on “Making Tourism Work for Your Community” at the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador convention being held in Corner Brook this week.

Following the session, Steady Brook Coun. Leona Gillette, who is also a tour guide, agreed with the panel’s assessment there needs to be quality products, services, and experiences, in reality, meeting the hype of marketing. She said there are obvious gaps, especially with respect to tours being conducted around western Newfoundland.

Gillette said all the potential in the world means nothing, if visitors walk away having had a bad experience.

She said training should be a requirement for tour guides and bus drivers and there should be standards in which operators of services such as buses have to meet in order to be involved in the industry.

“If you haven’t got an experienced tour guide, who knows everything or something about shoelaces to the cost of housing, you are potentially turning off all those tourists from all over the world,” she said.

She was critical of the conditions of the buses and attitudes, dress, and actions of some of the drivers. She also said sometimes tour guides are hired “right off the street,” with little or no knowledge to provide.

“The old cliche is, ‘there is no second chance for first impressions,’” she said.

St. John’s deputy mayor Shannie Duff said Gillette hit the problem “bang on.” She said there should be mandatory certification for tour guides and set standards for equipment such as buses.

Meanwhile, Murphy said the issue is exactly the point she was making in her presentation — the disconnect that exists between visitor expectations and the reality of the product provided.

“It is going to get worse, I am being totally frank with you,” she said. “This is the area — It is not sexy, it is not advertising, it is not marketing… — it is very odd for me, the director of marketing to say to you, marketing is not our problem anymore. Our problem is quality assurance and product development.”

Cook Jr. and Dicks both suggested the onus is sometimes on the companies who do the hiring. If there is substandard services provided, do not give return business, which could also force those providers into increasing their level of service. However, those comments raised the ire of some municipal representatives in the audience who said there is often not a choice in who to hire.

They also clarified there are training programs available through Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dicks elaborated that the quality assurance issue is evolving, it is an initiative which is being discussed and lobbied for by industry representatives.

“It is not going to happen overnight,” he said. “It will have a lifecycle as we go forward. But, I can assure you that, based on the tourism board table and the interest of all the parties involved, you are absolutely 100 per cent correct, and it thou shalt be done.”