But with August and the main part of the tourist season winding down, we’ve got to start thinking about the next step — and the next thing we have to do is to start making tourism easier here.
In some ways, people are willing to put up with a lot — believe it or not, a lot of tourists see us as something of a frontier province. Uneven levels of accommodations and
services are often seen as endearing features, something that’s a topic
of pleased conversation among tourists unfamiliar with the occasional surprises of bed and breakfast life in small rural communities. Even the weather is seen as a novelty, and part of the experience for many.
But there are four areas that come up again and again, and if they’re not addressed, the money we’re investing in tourism advertising is going to end up being wasted.
Editorial page editors hear a lot from the disgruntled, so it’s probably not surprising I’ve heard a lot from tourists about what has made their visits memorable — and not in a good way. In fact, I’ve heard from plenty of tourists who not only say they won’t be back, but will go out of their way to tell their friends to give this province a pass.
The Big Four
You can lump the complaints into four main areas: signage, rental cars, ferry service and bills.
First, signage. The provincial government has decided to move to a standard directional signage policy on highways, and that’s fine — except for the fact that we’re in the labour part of the delivery of these signs, and there are plenty of places where old signs have come down, to be replaced by nothing. No signs may look better, but for those from away, nothing is no help at all.
Rental cars — oh, the agony of rental cars. First, there often aren’t any, and then, when renters find them, along comes the fact that we seem to be the only place in North America without unlimited mileage.
I’ve had tourists suggest to me that they want to complain to the Federal Combines Investigations branch — how, they ask, can all of the rental agencies miraculously decide not to offer unlimited mileage here if they haven’t gotten together to agree on the move? We’re a big province with lots of geography — 100 kilometre-a-day limits are ludicrous for tourists. What are you going to do? Arrive in St. John’s and take a day trip as far as the Foxtrap weigh scales?
Ferries. Yikes. Imagine planning a week’s vacation here, and then getting a call saying that the ferry you’re going back to the mainland on isn’t available, and you have to drive another 10 hours to catch one at the other end of the province. Planning, down the toilet. Reservations? Same thing.
You could always fly in and get a rental car — but wait. See above. And yes, ferries break down and sometimes get their schedules fouled up. Here, it’s no longer the exception, though. It’s the rule.
Finally, bills. While tourists may be enchanted by the variety of styles of care they may get at different establishments, they’re less than thrilled by the bizarre billing practices. I’ve had calls from tourists who find one set of cabins full, and similar ones next door at twice the price. Customers with few choices might not be in a position to argue this time — but don’t expect them ever to come back.
When we entice people from away to come here, new money comes into the economy that we’re not getting from anywhere else. But getting those crucial first visits is only a fraction of the battle. If we can make them love this place, and love their experience as well, they’ll be back, and they’ll tell their friends.
First impressions are lasting ones. Burned bridges are expensive.
Let’s move to the next step and make things easier. Otherwise, the frustration of a new tourist’s first visit is also going to make it their last.
Russell Wangersky is The Telegram’s editorial page editor. He can be reached by e-mail at rwanger@thetelegram.com.
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