Becoming the Winter Hub… Deer Lake Follow Up

Questions with Damon Clarke

SW Mag: What does the Town have planned for the Winter of 2016?

Damon: For the winter of 2016 we plan to offer a guided snowmobile tour on the same weekend as our 2016 Deer Lake Winterfest.  The weekend kicks off Friday evening with a meet and greet offering live entertainment and finger foods. Your adventure begins Saturday, which features a full day tour to The Sinkhole with lunch provided. Numerous activities are being offered in the community on Saturday evening as the town celebrates the 2016 Deer Lake Winterfest. Your weekend of fun continues on Sunday morning with a ride to the Main Dam.  This winter we also hope to re-launch our web site and have it provide a strong presence in tourism, particularly winter tourism.

And, we plan to install an entrance kiosk at Deer Lake Airport, which will contain much of the same information as that included on the website.

SW Mag: Becoming the “hub of snowmobiling for Newfoundland” is not a light title, what’s the Town doing to maintain this title/claim?

Damon: These efforts are aimed at strengthening our brand as the snowmobile hub of Newfoundland. Going forward, the title will be utilized in our winter tourism offerings and through avenues such as the website.

SW Mag: Are the residents/business owners (of Deer Lake) accepting/embracing this claim….”the hub of snowmobiling for Newfoundland”?

Damon: This is the challenging part…businesses and residents have been slow to buy into the concept but it is a message that the Town will continually reinforce.

SW Mag: Are other towns/cities looking at the Town of Deer Lake and paying attention?

Damon: Locally and throughout Western Newfoundland, yes. Beyond that area I’m not sure, although the town and area have been identified in provincial tourism planning documents (recent Opportunities Management sessions, for example) as being on the cusp of a great opportunity.