Winter is coming: Fogo Island Inn's Zita Cobb promoting N.L. tourism when the snow flies - Action News
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Winter is coming: Fogo Island Inn's Zita Cobb promoting N.L. tourism when the snow flies

The founder of the Fogo Island Inn is spreading the word about a winter adventure in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fogo Island Inn founder says hotel is full when the sun shines, but winter is a different challenge

A large hotel sits on a layer of rock. Part of the building is held up by a series of beams.
The Fogo Island Inn (Zach Goudie/CBC)

The founder of one of the most iconic structures in Newfoundland and Labrador is trying to persuade Britons that this province is a great place to visit, even in winter.

Zita Cobb establishedthe Fogo Island Inn, which has garnered international attention and acclaim for its unique design and location.

"If we had three times as many rooms, we could have absolutely filled every one of them between the first of May and the end of October.- Zita Cobb

She's attending the London Design Festival showing some of the furniture used at the hotel and how it's designed and labelled.

Cobb, however, is also taking the opportunity to educate Londoners, and the British in general, what a special place her home province really is.

"I think, increasingly in the world, people who are living in massive urban areas have a deeper longing for being away from the madding crowd, and I think that's going to keep getting stronger," Cobb said.

A woman with short hair smiles.
Zita Cobb founded the iconic Fogo Island Inn. (Seamus O'Regan/Twitter)

This past summer has been a terrific one for the inn, she said.

"If we had three times as many rooms, we could have absolutely filled every one of them between the first of May and the end of October," Cobb said.

The key now, according to Cobb, is to push the idea that tourism doesn't stop when the snow flies. She says England, with a direct flight between London and St. John's, and a recent one-hour BBC documentary about her inn, is a great place to target tourists.

She said the inn closes onlyfor the month of January and then the doors reopen.

"The first of February we're back open, and so the challenge is to grow the business and grow interest in the province in those months that I love, certainly on Fogo Island.So why wouldn't someone in London or anywhere else love them?"said Cobb.