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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - More tourists asked about the aurora borealis in November than any other Northern activity, a recent report released by Northwest Territories Tourism revealed.

Enquiries on the northern lights were nearly double the next most-asked about activity - sight-seeing. In third place was the outdoor adventure category, which includes activities like dogsledding and snowshoeing.

Dogs at Beck's Kennels go for a run. Grant Beck, owner of Beck's, said his business has seen a boost in recent years even as new figures from NWT Tourism indicate interest among tourists about dog sledding has waned. - NNSL file photo

The high aurora numbers, however, were somewhat expected considering many people plan ahead in November for aurora viewing, said Erin Green, Northwest Territories Tourism call centre co-ordinator.

"It fluctuates throughout the year depending on what season we're in and when people are planning," she said. "This morning I had 17 voice mails about hunting."

The fulfilment department only recently began tracking enquires in a standardized manner - breaking them down into specific, popular topics - to give the tourism industry a better idea of what people want to see.

Once the reports get going, the department hopes the report will give tourism operators concrete numbers on trends, instead of people trying to track them based on their own observations, said Green.

"We want to be more transparent in what we do and sharing the information that we have so (clients and operators) are able to best tailor what they're putting out to the people who are interested," she added.

Even so, Debbie Doody, who runs the Bayside B&B with her husband John, said she wasn't too surprised aurora viewings topped the list of reasons why people were looking to head North.

"It's what they always want to come and see," she said, noting people from Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, Germany and the U.S. have all recently passed through her doors.

Doody said in the winter, besides business ventures, the Northern lights are "pretty much the only attraction."

People come to see nature's light show "and then the rest of it they just fill in time," she said.

A good way to do that is to go dogsledding, she said. Doody's turns to Beck's Kennels for any guests interested in learning how to mush, she said.

While enquiries on outdoor adventures like dogsledding actually decreased slightly, according to the report, Beck's owner Grant Beck said he's seen nothing but boosts over the past several years.

Part of the increase is due to the recent edition of the "Northern outdoor adventure," which allows people to take out a dog team on their own.

"The word has got around in the last two or three years. It's really took off," said Beck. "I haven't looked at (numbers), but I can tell you it's maybe four or five times what it used to be."

Beck said he has a new group out nearly every day doing the tour but did mention they're not always tourists any more.

"(It's) caught on with the local people," he said.

While Northern lights enquiries were strong in 2008, they didn't stop one business from folding.

Aurora World, which started in 1989 and was originally dubbed Raven Tours, shut its doors after several years of declining business, said board chair Darryl Bohnet late November.

Doody agreed things have changed since Aurora World closed, but she said she is not too worried.

"We had people like crazy coming and since (Aurora World) closed down we still have people calling, but they're calling independently and through email," she said.

The owner of the last aurora gig in town, Don Morin of Aurora Village, did not return calls for comment before press time.