Enterprise (Apr 28/03) - Daniel Oteiza is in a unique position to assess winter tourism in the NWT -- at least the number of visitors arriving by road.

Daniel Oteiza manages the Enterprise Visitor Information and Resource Centre. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Oteiza is the manager of the Enterprise Visitor Information and Resource Centre, less than an hour's drive from the NWT-Alberta border.

It opened last year and remained operating throughout the winter, keeping track of the number of visitors signing its guest book.

From October to March, the number of visitors from Asia signing in were more than triple the ones from the United States and Europe combined. There were 28 visitors from Asia, compared to three from Europe and six from the U.S.

"The European market has their own winter things," Oteiza explains.

Between June and September last year, the numbers were a lot different -- 51 from the U.S., 16 from Europe and only five from Asia.

In the June-September period, there were also 267 travellers (not necessarily tourists) from the rest of Canada and 21 from other parts of the world, other than Europe and Asia. From October to March, there were 162 travellers from Southern Canada and 14 from places other than Asia and Europe.

"They're conservative estimates," Oteiza says. "We're still looking at the best way to measure volume."

Sometimes visitors don't drop into the centre, or may not sign the guest book if they do drop in. A new section was added last month in the guest book to list the number of people in a party, since sometimes only one person signs for a group.

Based on his own experience in the tourism industry, Oteiza says, he has noticed an increase in the number of South Koreans visiting in the winter. Like the Japanese, he says they are attracted by the aurora borealis.

"Everything else is a bonus."

The centre has no numbers from the previous winter to compare with those from this past winter, but Oteiza says, "Based on the information I have, I would assume tourism is on the increase."

Among other questions, winter visitors sometimes ask about ice fishing in the Hay River area, while Southern Canadians are often interested in snowmobiling opportunities.

Foreign tourists in winter often ask how cold does it get and is it dark all the time.

"The winter traveller is a more qualified tourist," Oteiza says, explaining those are tourists who know what they're looking for.

"I'm very positive about the opportunities for growth of year-round tourism," he says.

While providing information to visitors, the Enterprise centre also offers a number of services to people in the community.