Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 23/98) - By all standards, Bill and Dora Fraser's tourism business in the Belcher Islands is a success.

Opened just 18 months ago, as the Qikiqtait Tour and Outfitting Company in Sanikiluaq, the pair have recently incorporated the company and are in the process of changing the the face of their family-run operation.

"Incorporating represented growth and also that we had changed the business a bit," Bill Fraser said.

The couple first started the company solely as a means of providing income and employment for some of the hamlet's 700 people. Less than two years later, they have dramatically increased the number of tours they plan to offer in '99 -- up from four to 24 -- and they've begun to offer sea-kayaking and other kinds of equipment rentals as activity options during their tours.

And with the knowledge that Nunavut Tourism is on the verge of releasing the results of a focus group study that targeted seven different cities, Fraser said he wanted to start promoting his business to more far-flung markets.

"That's one of the reasons why we're going to the International Adventure Travel Show in Chicago this February," Fraser said.

"We want to offer the very best of what we've got in Sanikiluaq and the Belcher Islands."

southerly hamlet in Nunavut can plan to spend the night in an igloo, a tent or the brand new hotel and will have the opportunity of participating in a seal hunt or fishing for char. For the less adventurous traveller, Fraser said he and his team of Inuit guides were quite willing to customize tour packages.

"Everybody we've approached has been happy with their visit and there have been no major criticisms at this point," Fraser said.

For more informationabout the Qikiqtait Tour and Outfitting Company, visit them on the Internet at www.travel2canada.com.