Tourism A Valuable Resource Along the Discovery Trail

I. Briefly review the project form. Discuss the project theme, outline and time line; review the project and curriculum objectives.

There are a number of communities whose rich cultural heritage has served as the focal point for the development of local attractions on the Discovery Trail. The tourism industry is rapidly developing in this area, and much of the tourism potential emanates from the rich historical/cultural traditions. Visit to find a listing of pictures, information, historic sites, links, and resources.

Outline:

• Students in groups of two or three will choose a community either Bonavista, Elliston, Trinity, etc.
• Design a rough draft of information to include the eight areas of Tourism such as food and beverage, accommodations, attractions, adventure tourism, travel trade, transportation etc..
• Interpret and prepare a tourism related web site.

• Use current technologies in order to access and prepare tourism related HTML documents.
• Understand the economic impact of the modern tourism industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Examine how history has translated into tourism attractions and the potential within communities along the Discovery trail.
• Appreciate the cultural, historical and natural assets of the Discovery Trail.
• Examine the development of the tourism industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Identify the major sectors of the tourism industry. Understand the historical factors which have contributed to the development of some of the major communities along the Discovery trail.
• Evaluate the tourism industry along the Discovery Trail as a vehicle of sustainable development and employment.

II. Show the audience the outcome of the project proposal.

Results and a tour of the project can be seen at: http://www.k12.nf.ca/discovery/grassroots/tourism/index.htm

III. Briefly comment on any successes or problems that were encountered throughout the life of the project.

The students loved being authors of something that they created online. They were fascinated! Even special need students felt they were on a level playing field during the duration of this project....everyone achieved some level of success with this project! Lab time was difficult to obtain. With graduation...it would have been better planned as most students in this class were graduates.

IV. Comment on any aspects of the project that you would do differently.

Next year hope to have all five major communities online and have an ongoing project. The reasons for these towns are as follows...

There are five towns of major significance to the tourism industry in Zone # 15 - Trinity and the Bight, Bonavista, Port Union, Port Blandford, and Clarenville.

1. Trinity and the Bight offer visitors heritage, architecture, theatre, interpretative programs and nature viewing opportunities.
2. Bonavista has Canada's newest National Historic Site, the Ryan Premises, the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, several Provincial Historic Sites, heritage architecture and natural scenic coastlines.
3. Port Union offers the fishing community of our province that will be interpreted through the Coaker Properties initiative.
4. Port Blandford is ideally suited to capture a portion of the resident and non-resident market, by virtue of its geographic position in the region. It is located at a principal gateway to a National park and offers a high end golf and sports fishing (salmon) product.
5. Clarenville is the service center for the entire zone and will be a vital preparatory or staging area for tourists and tourism developments in the region. This includes winter tourism activities centered around the White Hills operations.

V. Comment on if and how the project can be expanded next year.

• Database for businesses located in Economic Zone #15 with email, contact name, phone number and link to web page if one exists.
• Creation of web pages by the Multimedia class 2120/2121 for businesses at a low rate in this area.
• Virtual Tours of the major towns in this area seeing all the attractions and sights.
• How to get here from where you are section - transportation section and associated costs.
• An online game/testing interactive section for students across this province to give students an appreciation of our area and its strengths in tourism/business. For example, an elementary student can explore the Tourism web page and then complete an online quiz. A picture of the Matthew could be shown with a multiple choice type question At the end of the online quiz, a score will be given for material tested after viewing the online materials and virtual tours. Online games such as putting together a puzzle of John Cabot etc..
• A cd rom for tourists chalets in this economic zone for the year 2000!