Inuvik (June 16/03) - Inuvik may be at the end of the Dempster Highway but it is often the beginning of the trail for adventure-seeking tourists.

Tourism counsellor Dayna Lennie, left, and Judith Venaas, GNWT regional tourism officer, hold up some of the pamphlets they distribute to thousands of tourists at the Western Arctic Regional Visitor Centre in Inuvik. - Erin Fletcher/NNSL photo

The Beaufort Delta community hosts 7,000 tourists a year who contribute more than $7 million to the local economy, said Judith Venaas, regional tourism officer with Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

Thousands of RVs roar up the Dempster from June to September full of people eager to experience the vast wilderness, the Northern hospitality and to dip their toes into Canada's third and least accessible ocean.

Olga Sadoway and Katie Husieff of Alberta were in the second vehicle to come across the ferry this summer.

It's the first time they've visited the region.

"I love the North. I just love this place," said Sadoway, while looking around the Western Arctic Regional Visitor Centre in Inuvik.

"There's beautiful scenery. Everything is just beautiful," agreed Husieff.

They plan to spend four days in the Delta including a day trip to Tuktoyaktuk to see the pingos and the community ice house.

Canadians and Americans are the bulk of visitors to the Delta. Most of them are from British Columbia, Ontario and the southwestern states like California, said Venaas.

Tourism in the past

Tourism, like many other industries in the Delta, is new.

The Dempster Highway opened up the opportunity for tourism 24 years ago.

One of the first tour companies to hit the region was Arctic Nature Tours. It was started 40 years ago by air charter company owner Freddy Carmichael and is now operated by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation.

Today, between 1,500 and 2,000 people participate in the tours which include day trips to Tuktoyaktuk, Herschel Island and the Mackenzie River, said John Bass, tourism resource person.

When the company started, tour clients came to Inuvik by air. Now most of them drive up the Dempster, said Bass.

To continue the flow of RVs and campers to Inuvik, a visitors centre was established in Dawson City and at the end of the highway in Inuvik.

"They do convert quite a few people who have never been up the Dempster," said Venaas, of the Dawson City location.

However, the Dempster is also the reason some people never venture this far.

The gravel road is often an obstacle for American travellers, she said.

The numbers have also been declining in recent years. In 1995 more than 8,000 people visited the region, in 1998 8,800 but in 2002 there were 7,000.

Venaas attributes the rough road as part of the problem but adds nationally there has been a decline in tourists for various worldwide reasons.

Tuk is tops

Tuktoyaktuk is the number reason people visit the Delta.

"People aren't content to say they've just been to Inuvik. They want to know what life is like at the edge of the continent," said Bass.

His company took more than 1,000 people to the community last year.

Maureen Pokiak and her husband, James, have operated Ookpik Tours and Adventures out of Tuktoyaktuk for eight years.

They take more than 1,000 tourists a year on tours of the community, the pingos, river rafting, canoeing, and dog sledding.

Although they are opened all year, their busiest time is between June and September.

Pokiak said most of her clients come to see the Arctic Ocean and to dip their toes into it.

"They really like to walk along the beach and pick up a rock or piece of driftwood," she said.

Although a visitor's primary reason is the ocean, they soon discover there is more to Tuktoyaktuk than they thought.

"There are a lot of things about Tuk and the Arctic people don't know about," said Pokiak.

"And they don't know what they want to see until they have things explained."

The other top two reasons for visiting the Delta are the midnight sun and the Northern hospitality, said Venaas.

And, of course, the hunting.

"Hunting in our region is very big," said Venaas, adding it is slowing down.

"(But) people are more into hunting animals with their cameras and not their guns. It's a change of attitude."

Change or not, hunting is what attracted San Francisco doctors Arnie and Nora Goldschlager.

Arnie came up for his first visit in January to hunt polar bear.

"It was the most exciting thing I've done in my life and I hunt all over the world," said Arnie, who shot one on his eighth day out.

Arnie returned to Inuvik with Nora last week for the same reason everyone else comes up here for -- to see Tuktoyaktuk and experience an Arctic summer.