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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Movers and shakers in Northwest Territories tourism - including lodge operators, outfitters and representatives of the aviation, travel, hotel and restaurant sectors - gathered in Yellowknife last week for the 2012 NWT Tourism Conference.

Ragnar Wesstrom, president of Enodah Wilderness Travel Ltd. and Trout Rock Lodge, arrived at the NWT Tourism conference this week in his Hagglund tracked vehicle. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

About 150 delegates attended the three-day conference and trade show event at the Explorer Hotel and more than 180 guests attended the culminating gala dinner and industry awards banquet Thursday night.

The annual general meeting and conference also included state-of-the-industry presentations that showed a positive outlook for the NWT tourism industry, which is continuing to rebound from recession lows, especially due to an increase in aurora viewing numbers over the last year and increased marketing of Yellowknife and NWT attractions to the rest of Canada and the world, delegates heard.

The theme of this year's conference was The Sky's the Limit.

Tourism operators said there has been a resurgence in aurora visitor numbers, including the return of the strong Japanese tourist market and the emergence of the Chinese traveller market.

"You can see that growth from China is just out of this world," said speaker Sarah Marsh during an update from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

Aurora viewing visitors to the NWT for the 2011-12 season jumped to 7,400 from 6,800 in 2010-11.

Visitor spending for aurora viewing also increased to $10.2 million from an estimated $9.4 million.

Aurora-viewing tourists are expected to soar over the next season, as the sun's solar flare activity peak approaches over the next year.

"It's going to be fantastic," said Ragnar Wesstrom, who has seen strong aurora tourism and fishing tourism at Enodah Trout Rock Lodge.

Although the number of visitors who travelled to the NWT for fishing fell by about 300 to 4,700 for 2011-12 from 5,000 the year before, fishing lodge owners and operators are adapting to the falling fishing numbers by offering more tourism products, such as general touring and outdoor adventure activities, which both saw an increase in the last season, compared to the year before.

General touring visitors jumped to 13,400 in 2011-12, from 12,900 the year before. The number of tourists who came for outdoor adventure increased to 2,300, higher than the past five years, from 1,900 in 2010-11.

The number of visiting hunters, who spend more per person than any other visitor segment, increased to 480 people from 440 people.

David Goldstein, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, praised the city's hotels and other tourism operators for catering to the Chinese and Japanese tourists, while reminding delegates to hold on to their share of Canadian travellers, which comprise up to 78 per cent of NWT visitors.

The conference also included panel discussions, and an address from Dave Grundy, president and CEO of the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (WSCC), who responded to industry protests over escalating employer assessment rates.

The rate for subclass 10, the renewable resources and outdoor recreation subclass where most tourism operators fall under, is increasing by the maximum 20 per cent, to $11.71 per $100 of payroll beginning in 2013.

It is the second year in a row that registration for the NWT Tourism trade show and conference has hit 150 delegates.

For the NWT, tourism is a $100-million per year industry, according to the department.

ITI invests $1 million a year in tourism skills development, training, strategic planning and infrastructure projects.

NWT Tourism markets Northwest Territories tourism products across Canada and internationally.

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