Yellowknife (Nov 17/04) - Camping is never an easy activity.

There are always bugs, bears and bad weather, so it's hard enough without wondering if you'll even find a site.

But the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has a plan to help. They've tendered a contract for the development of an online reservation system, which would allow visitors to book campsites and kitchen shelters over the Internet.

"We see the value of it from a tourism perspective," explained Phil Lee, RWED's regional superintendent.

Lee said a study conducted last year found Recreational Vehicle (RV) traffic had increased and predicted a further influx of visitors, so the department felt the time was right to streamline reservations.

Once a provider has been found, a two-year pilot of the program will be held with Fred Henne Territorial Campground. Lee expects the system to be up and running sometime this winter, but definitely by the opening of camping season in mid-May.

There will be a fee for the service, he explained, as there is in southern areas that use it.

"It's up to $11 at some Ontario campgrounds, and $8 or $9 elsewhere in Canada."

The money for the start-up costs will come out of RWED's budget, although Lee couldn't put a dollar figure on it.

RWED oversees all campgrounds in the NWT. Under the current system, reservations are made on a site-by-site basis, either in person or by phone.

With Fred Henne as the testing ground, Lee said he expects the program to expand if it works well. It could be used for other campsites within the span of the two-year pilot.

He doesn't expect it will work in all NWT campgrounds, however. The communication difficulties would be too great. Still, said Lee, with advances in communications technology, it's not impossible.

As for Yellowknife, "the North Slave has the largest RV traffic in the territory," said Lee, "(so) as a means to enhance the tourist experience, it makes sense."