Tourists who told the Newfoundland and Labrador government they didn't know where they were going have prompted a change in the type of signs on provincial roads.

This summer new signs, which the government is calling fingerboards, are being installed in some parts of the province, such as the Bonavista Peninsula.

Tourism Minister Terry French said new road signs will make it easier for tourists to find businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador. (CBC)Provincial officials said Thursday that tourists told them private business signs were sometimes hard to read - a problem that was solved in other parts of the country by standardized, government-issued signs.

"We didn't decide to do this on a whim…our tourism people, the visitors to our province, it's been their number one complaint. So we've got to have some kind of a system that can get people from A to B," said Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister, Terry French.

"So you know we're not reinventing the wheel here. We're implementing a proven technology."

A St. John's hotel and Bed and Breakfast company called Leaside Manor has signed on. It will pay the province $141 annually for a government fingerboard that points out the way to their business.

Some businesses are already using new government-issued road signs, like this one. (CBC)"There are so many people around here and for them to see the signs for Leaside Manor, they might want to come and stay with us. They might pull over and give us a call or if they're enroute and they say, that's where I'm staying, I'm on the right path," said Nicole Bailote.

The new sign policy will take a few years to implement. For now, private signs are still allowed on provincial roads, as long as the companies they advertise are tourism related and have a permit to put up signs.