Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 29/02) - Kyle Bussell, 19, is the senior information counsellor at the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre in Yellowknife.

When people from all over the world come to the Northwest Territories, Kyle is often the first person they meet. He has the inside scoop on what would lure more of them to the North.

Yellowknifelife: You see people come to Yellowknife from all over the world. How are they the same?

Kyle Bussell: I think if there is one common thread, they are all adventurous. They're not your typical tourist. A lot of people who come to Yellowknife have always wanted to come to Yellowknife. Once they get here, they want to do as much as they can. They don't just idly sit and let things happen.

They search for things to do and they want to be active for the entire time they are here -- whether it's the elderly couple from California or the young people coming by themselves from Australia or Japan. They all want to do as much as they can in the area.

The other thing I find about people who travel to Yellowknife is they are very knowledgeable. It's a common mistake -- people think when people come to Yellowknife they might be a little green. A lot of people do their homework, call ahead of time and get information. It's quite a long trek for people to come all the way up here. So they are very adventurous and they do their homework.

Yellowknifelife: Do you notice a difference between Canadian and Americans?

KB: Not really. You can't really tell the difference at all. A lot of them come up for the same reason. They want to go somewhere different, somewhere new, but not leave the comforts of the North American borders. For the most part they are the same kind of traveller.

Yellowknifelife: What are the most common questions?

KB: People are always interested in plant life and wildlife no matter if they are young and old.

The highways in the Northwest Territories are always a major question -- whether it's the Ingraham Trail or the Liard Trail going to British Columbia.

Yellowknifelife: They want to know about conditions?

KB: About conditions and about what they can find a long the way.

Yellowknifelife: What do you tell them?

KB: Northwest Territories actually does have some of the best roads in Canada. We don't have many road systems but for the road systems we have are pretty well maintained. The last 80 kilometres between Yellowknife and Rae Edzo is a little rough, but that's because they are working on a new road.

The main questions in the winter is about the Northern Lights and dog sleds. Where can I see the Northern Lights? What's the best time to see the Northern Lights? Where can I go with a dog team? Can I drive my own dog sled?

Yellowknifelife: Can people drive their own dog teams?

KB: They can actually. There's a couple of main companies that let you drive your own dog team. They give you a training session.

Yellowknifelife: What are some of the common misconceptions about the Northern Lights?

KB: For the most part, people are knowledgeable about the Northern Lights. I guess you could say one of the misconceptions is that it has to be bitterly cold to see the Northern Lights. It doesn't have to be. You can see the Northern Lights as early as August and as late as April or May.

Yellowknifelife: What do local people ask about?

KB: I have seen an increasing number of residents coming into the visitors centre. People looking for things to do in the Yellowknife area, in their own home city. Things like canoeing, or even going down the Ingraham Trail. It's surprising the number of people who haven't been down the Ingraham Trail or have been down but don't know what it has to offer.

When people first move to Yellowknife they get themselves situated and then they eventually work their way to the visitor's centre and they realize -- hey, Yellowknife has a lot more to offer than I thought.

When people first come up to Yellowknife there is the misconception that Yellowknife is a small, really isolated community with no amenities -- a frontier town so to speak. People are shocked to find that we have a population of just under 19,000 people. We have movie theatres, skating rinks and curling arenas, and high-speed Internet access.

People don't realize we're such a large centre ... we're really not that isolated.

Yellowknifelife: What is one thing we don't have here that we need?

KB: That's a touchy subject. I think everybody tries their hardest to guess. Promotion-wise, if you look at the Yukon, they push canoeing. If you look at British Columbia, they push kayaking. I think there needs to be a bit more of a push as far as advertising. The government of the Northwest Territories and the City of Yellowknife are doing a great job advertising the North and Yellowknife. But we need to get our name out there a bit more.

We need to promote the fact that you can be in Yellowknife and then in 10 minutes you could be on the Ingraham Trail or canoeing.

One thing I hear a lot is people saying they wish there were set times for tourists. A lot of tour companies are great in the sense they cater to individual's needs. But some visitors would like to see scheduled tours. For example, a boat tour always going out at seven o'clock. I think once we get more scheduled tours. People will start booking in advance and we'll see numbers starting to grow.

Yellowknifelife: What's the weirdest question you've ever been asked?

KB: The weirdest question I've ever received was from a lady calling from southern United States. She asked me, "What side of the road do you folks drive on up there?" I guess because Yellowknife is so far away it's a mystical place. So people ask all sorts of questions that we might think are weird but other people think are totally reasonable.

To be honest with you, as much as people in Yellowknife area don't want to admit it, I'm sure a lot of people have been asked -- do you guys live in igloos?

Yellowknifelife: Have you been asked that?

KB: I have been asked that. People calling from other places ask: do you live in an igloo? Do you drive dogsleds or do you drive only on snowmobiles?

Some people don't realize Yellowknife is such a developed area. They associated all these images with the North so they think that's what Yellowknife is all about.

Yellowknifelife: Are people starting to associate the North with diamonds?

KB: Very much so. Diamond mining is becoming a huge industry in the North and it's certainly becoming recognized. One of the main questions people ask me -- especially this year -- is there a tour of the diamond mines? Can I tour a diamond mine plant, a polishing plant? Where can I see someone cutting a diamond? Where can I see a finished diamond?

Yellowknifelife: Do they think they can buy cheap diamonds here?

KB: They do. A lot of people say, "I'm in Yellowknife so I should be able to buy a really, really cheap diamond." Unfortunately, diamonds are as expensive in Yellowknife as they are anywhere else in the world.

But getting back to your question about what Yellowknife could do to work on tourism a bit more. Another question people always ask is: is there a tour of Giant Mine? There is currently a heritage group working to open up a mining tour at the Giant Mine.

In places like South America and Africa, a lot of mines in those areas offer tours. It's a package. You get picked up at your hotel, go to the mess hall of the mine, you get a meal, get all suited up in mining gear, and then go down for a tour of the mine.

Yellowknifelife: That would be neat.

KB: When you look at the big picture, that's a huge lure. I think if we opened up a tour of the gold mine and advertised and pushed it, we'd get a lot of people coming up. We get a lot of questions about that. It's a huge part of our history and our heritage.