“We’re all pretty excited about our New Year’s festivities this year,” says Kevin Gushue of Tourism St. John’s. “Naturally, the clubs along Water and George streets will be jumping, as they generally are at this time of year, but this go around is very special to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. You see, 2010 marks the 400th aniversary of John Guy establishing the first English-speaking settlement in what would become Canada.” That first settlement was hewn out of the forest at a spot then dubbed Cuper’s Cove, now known as Cupids.

This year, Newfoundland, which is always the first region in the Western hemisphere to ring in the New Year, will be kicking off a year-long celebration of Newfoundland tradition and hospitality. Music and entertainment activities will be happening all over the province, starting with a massive fireworks display at St. John’s’ Quidi Vidi Lake on New Year’s Eve. “Despite the temperatures, we’re expecting more than 10,000 to gather for the show, which will be simulcast over the local station,” Gushue explains. “We were thrust onto the world stage at the millennium and just haven’t looked back,” he adds.

Destination St. John's CEO Keith Healey is quoted as saying, “Our destination’s continued solid performance is a testament to the quality of product that is offered to the visitor and the hard work of our sales forces at Destination St. John’s.” In fact, total revenue to the end of the third quarter was up close to 6 percent over 2008, year to date, an exceptional increase given the state of the world economy.

The American Bus Association has declared the Cupids 400 festivities as being one of the top 100 attractions in North America for 2010. As SOCAN Member and Industry Relations Executive Tim Hardy points out, “Nobody throws a party like Newfoundlanders. But after all, they’ve had 400 years to perfect the art form.”