TWILLINGATE, NL – The 2025 tourism season kicked off in early May this year with the arrival of icebergs in the Twillingate and St Anthony areas. The May 24th Holiday weekend saw Twillingate jammed with visitors flocking to catch the iceberg show.
Thankfully a lot of tour boat operators, restaurants and accommodations were open to meet the demands and they were rewarded.
This is not always a given. In recent years it was common that tourism operators and businesses did not open until June leaving early season visitors with very few amenities.
It is also the time of the year when the whales and seabirds start to return along with the icebergs. This is the Hat Trick of the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism industry and the man reason people choose the province as a travel destination despite the challenging logistics of just getting here.
It is now common to find nature photographers, travelers, even social media influencers, with camper vans and vehicles from the USA and across Canada in remote Twillingate, Bonavista, St Anthony and the south coast of Labrador as early as April.
Not only is the season starting early, it is lingering well into the Autumn also. Typically, Labour Day and the first week of September signaled the end of summer travel. But as seasons and climate shift Newfoundland “summer” now stretches well into October with fine weather and outdoor opportunities.
For travelers the trick is to find tourism focused businesses open after August. Restaurants, inns, tour guides tend to close up after Labour day.
But tourism operators seem to be figuring this out and the struggle to extend the tourism business out into the shoulder seasons of Spring and Autumn may be happening while still facing labour shortages outside the summer months. Tourism is still a business that relies on summer students and seasonal workers and is often run as a summer businesses by people from away. That is not going to change until it can offer near year-round employment.
While this perennial rural tourism problem seems to be sorting it self out the problem of capacity is what faces St John’s and the more urban destinations. A lack of hotel rooms and rental cars in June, July and August has been an issue for the past dozen years.
For now, the advice to tourists, adventurers, travelers, vacationers and convention goers to Newfoundland and Labrador remains the same. Plan ahead, book early.
Here are a few helpful links.
We at Explore Newfoundland.ca love Trip Advisor.
Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism (Official site)
