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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Chinese tourist Cinderella Lai thought Yellowknife's famed aurora borealis was nothing special when she first went to bed Thursday night at Enodah Trout Rock Lodge.

Yellowknife Tours operators Verda Law and Chun Kwok Law visit Beck's Kennels last Saturday. The tour company has hosted almost 100 Chinese tourists this season. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

That was until about 1 a.m., when Yellowknife Tours operator Verda Law went knocking on every room, saying "wake up, wake up, aurora is coming out!"

Lai and the rest of Law's guests rushed out with their cameras, exclaiming "wow!" as they looked up at the sky, she said.

"We could see the green light all over the sky, like a curtain," Lai said. "The light was dancing." Originally from Hong Kong, Lai has lived in Vancouver for almost 20 years, and has always wanted to see the Northern lights - a natural phenomenon considered a "blessing" to see for many Chinese.

What finally brought Lai to Yellowknife last weekend was Yellowknife Tours, the only Chinese tour operator in the North. The company was started in January 2011 by Verda and her parents Angela and Chun Kwok (CK) Law.

"Because the major focus is Japanese tourism, Chinese people when they come here, they can feel left out," Verda said about what prompted her to diversify the aurora tourism market. "If there is a local operator that can speak their own language, it helps a lot."

Yellowknife Tours operators speak both Cantonese and Mandarin, so they are able to draw tourists from the major Chinese centres of Hong Kong and Beijing.

In its first season, the company had more than 100 Chinese guests, and so far this season, it has drawn another 100 Chinese tourists from Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong, and Beijing.

"We're just starting right now, and the feedback is already so good," Verda said, noting several guests have expressed interest in returning to the North. "We can see that there's very big potential that can really boom in Yellowknife."

Last season, about 6,776 tourists visited the territory specifically for aurora viewing, spending about $9.4 million, according to GNWT statistics.

Northwest Territories Tourism chair Jenni Bruce said she is "very optimistic about the Chinese market," and expects a significant increase in the numbers this year.

"It's a significant boost, definitely," Bruce said, noting the tourism association has been watching the Chinese market closely since Canada was granted approved destination status for leisure travel, whereas before only business travel was allowed.

"Very similar to the Japan dynamic, it is such a large population, that if we even get one per cent of the population looking at coming up North, I don't even think we could handle that much."

The territory has made efforts to diversify its aurora tourism market in the past, including a 2007 visit to China by a delegation of the GNWT, including then-Premier Joe Handley.

"We are obviously very interested on how we can target that market," NWT Tourism executive director Brian Desjardins said, adding China is among the emerging markets the group is "keeping a pulse on," but not yet actively marketing to due to lack of funds.

In addition to the appeal of the Northern Lights, the Chinese are very well-travelled, Law said, and a growing middle class is eager for more unique adventure trips.

"They have done the Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls," Law said.

While the group over the weekend was fortunate to experience strong aurora viewing, the adventure packages available in the North also include dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and other outdoor activities that appeal to the Chinese market.

"When you come here it's like a true Arctic wilderness experience," Lai said. "Our group is so happy."

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