Convention destination

Plans are underway to attract meetings and conventions to the NWT. A group working on the plan is in Fort Simpson tonight and visited Inuvik, Norman Wells, Hay River and Fort Smith last week. From left, Robin Wotherspoon, chair of NWT Tourism; Kent Stewart, director of Western Management Consultants; and Jenni Legge, chair of the Northern Frontier Visitors Association met with interested parties. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Convention destination

Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Hay River (Sep 26/05) - Establishing a meetings and conventions bureau in the NWT is a good idea, said Karen Rowe, co-owner of the Ptarmigan Inn in Hay River.

The NWT is one of only two regions across Canada and the U.S. without a conventions bureau. A business association in Yellowknife is trying to change that by building a territories-wide strategy that will entice groups to hold meetings in the NWT.

Rowe met with representatives from Yellowknife who were in Hay River as part of a week-long tour that also included stops in Inuvik, Norman Wells and Fort Smith. A meeting is taking place tonight in Fort Simpson.

"Theoretically, it would be good for business and we would see an increase in revenue," she said. "That remains to be seen as it is just in the planning stage now."

Western Management Consultants director Kent Stewart was hired by five Yellowknife-based business associations to develop a marketing strategy and business plan.

The business plan used by the group is modelled after the conventions bureau in Whitehorse.

"Communities are always concerned this will be another feather in the cap of Yellowknife," Rowe said. "The presenter did a good job of giving it a territorial focus, though."

The marketing initiative would be NWT-wide, said Stewart, who presented the business plan to the communities.

"Some meetings may just want to go to Inuvik or Yellowknife, or focus on transportation in Hay River," he said. "But pre- and post-trips can benefit lodges, other communities and tourism operators."

People coming this far North for meetings often want to take side trips, even more than they do in other areas of the country, he said.

A study, using the Yukon as an example, estimates $10 million per year could be generated in the NWT as a result of increased meetings scheduled in the tourism off-season.

"The market will be built before any additional rooms or facilities are built," he said.

Short notice of the group's meetings in the four communities resulted in a low turn-out in each location.

That isn't reflective of people's interest in the bureau, however, Rowe said.