ARVIAT - The Arviat Community Ecotourism initiative took a major step forward with a successful test run this past month.

Mary Okatsiak explains traditional tools to staging advisor Guillaume Saladin of Iglulik during a test run of Arviat's cultural program for ecotourism this past month. - photo courtesy of Mike Robbins

Mike Robbins of The Tourism Co. has been working to develop an ecotourism industry in Arviat for more than 18 months.

Robbins said the group started by talking about tourism and doing a lot of consulting in Arviat to determine interest in the industry, and what the community had to offer from a tourism perspective.

He said the initiative has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, and the project's first test run was very successful.

"We now have a community cultural program that does need some polishing and conducting a successful test run was a big step in the right direction," said Robbins.

"It was a big day for the program and the participants. They now have a better understanding of what we're helping them do, and how we're going to weave it all together into a program of interest for tourists from within Canada and internationally."

Advisor David Pelly is working on the project with The Tourism Co.

Pelly said the test-run participants did an amazing job of staging a unique cultural program.

He said the first test had more than 30 local Inuit who were paid to display their part of the proposed program for a group of mock tourists and a pro photographer.

"The day program lasted from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. and included a community tour with commentary, dog-sled rides, a traditional camp visit and interpretive presentation, tea with two elders who had amazing stories to tell, a visit to the sewing centre and a cultural show," said Pelly.

"The show went well beyond the calibre of the usual community demonstration, because it was real theatre organized with the help of Guillaume Saladin from Iglulik's internationally acclaimed Artcirq troupe.

"We had a feast of muskox, maktaaq, char, bannock and more; all of a remarkable gourmet standard never before seen in Arviat.

"With this being the culmination of the past year's development and training - ecoguides, community hosts, cultural performers, bookkeepers, cooks, etc. - we know we have made huge and exciting progress."

Pelly said the event was significant beyond being a successful test run. He said the evening was a community celebration.

"Everyone saw what they'd accomplished and realized what is truly possible. You could see the pride and joy on their faces and I heard it in their comments. This initiative has crossed a threshold and the community now really believes this is possible. Arviat has acquired a new confidence and is bursting with enthusiasm over the future prospects."

Robbins said the majority of the test-run participants treated the event as if it were real. He said there were people in the audience who were, in a sense, tourists.

"Our group was as serious about the proceedings as if it were a real performance," said Robbins. "They were paid as if it were a real tourism program and they conducted themselves accordingly."

Robbins said the next big step for the Arviat initiative is to run a familiarization trip to the community during the week of May 9, 2011. He said the guest list will include a number of big name tour operators.

"We want to start getting these tour operators excited about this program. The trip is going to involve not only the cultural trip in the community, but also a couple of days going out with a local outfitter to see the Qamanirjuaq caribou herd during its migration. So, that's going to be a bigger program with real tour operators participating."

Robbins said he's been confident about the ecotourism initiative since he first met the people of Arviat and realized the talent that exists in the community.

He said his love for the community and its people has continued to grow since those first encounters.

"I just love being in Arviat and working with the people who are involved with the initiative.

"We have another three years of work to do under our contracts with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Kivalliq Inuit Association. At the end of that time - and a lot of work in-between - the community will be in a position to move forward with ecotourism on a sustainable basis.

"Our first groups of tourists from Churchill will be coming to Arviat in the fall of this year for day visits, which we then expect to grow into multi-day visits that will include the community program and wildlife-viewing opportunities out on the land."

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