On our annual visit home to St. John's this year we toured the Burin and Connaigre Peninsulas, areas we've not seen since the 1950s. One downside of our visit involved getting from Burin-Marystown to towns across Fortune Bay, such as Belleoram, a mere 50 km as the crow flies, but which requires a long circuitous route north to Bishop Falls, then south on the Bay d'Espoir highway, a driving distance of over 600 km from Burin, and likewise from St. John's. We took a side trip to Harbour Breton on our return drive from Belleoram, which is what prompted this letter. We were flabbergasted by the fabulous scenery along this 40-km side trip, especially by the fjords (that I didn't even know existed on the south coast), culminating in a picturesque view of Harbour Breton, a tidy town that appears to be prosperous, apparently outgrowing the problems of a failed fishery that have beset many other south coast towns such as Lamaline or Belleoram. The scenery throughout the south coast rivals any we've observed elsewhere in Newfoundland, or in other parts of Canada, which begs the question: Why is tourism not booming on the south coast? The answer seems to be lack of convenient access, and locals point to that long highway south from Bishop Falls. Whether visitors drive across Newfoundland from Port aux Basques, or fly into St. John's, extra side trips to the south coast look too formidable for most. That should not be the case. We note a long-existing 90-km paved road from Come by Chance to Terrenceville, and linking that to the lower Bay d'Espoir highway would have added little more than 60 km. One must wonder why this obvious link to south coast communities was not constructed instead of that dreary route south from Bishop Falls, which is compounded by a total lack of facilities and towns, not to mention lack of road maintenance. Why wasn't the much shorter and much more accessible east-west route chosen when that highway was constructed, as this would have opened up the whole south coast from St. John's and other points? My admittedly less-informed impression is that the provincial government needs to seriously help south coast municipalities to develop tourism, starting with improvements to highways, camping and travel services, and general tourism promotion, as these areas have a rich history plus beautiful scenery. Connecting the Burin and Connaigre Peninsulas with a decent highway would be a major step in the right direction, while commercial facilities would surely follow. This would be a boon to provincial tourism, and would help revitalize areas hard-hit for many years by the failed fishing industry. Geoff Strong Cowichan Bay, BC 19 August 2015   Submitted By: Geoffrey Strong