Yellowknife used to have the northern lights tourism market sewn up, but not any more

Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

How the NWT Rates: Aurora tourist visits to the NWT: 2000-2001: 13,000 2001-2002: 6,500 2002-2003: 9,000 2003-2004: 9,990 2004-2005: 10,245 2005-2006: 10,200 Source: GNWT Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment statistics, 2006 There are many Canadian and American regions vying for the aurora market. If visitors don't get the services they are looking for here, they will go elsewhere. -GNWT Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment report: Aurora Tourism Economic Impact on the NWT, January 2002 Tourist ratings for Yellowknife (out of five, for the 2003-2004 season) aurora viewing: 4.5 snowmobiling tour: 4.3 dogsled tour: 4.2 restaurants: 3.4 hotels: 3.4 bed and breakfasts: 3.3 All of the cultural tours and activities were rated high by most of the respondents. However, hotels, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts received relatively low scores. -2003/2004 Aurora visitors survey results, GNWT Department of Industry, Tourism, and Investment report

YELLOWKNIFE - To some they are merely pretty lights in the sky but to others the aurora is an astronomical phenomenon made of pure gold.

However, unlike diamonds, this gold isn't quite forever, and that's what the industry may be forced to face, according to some involved.

The aurora phenomenon has generated millions of dollars for the Yellowknife economy merely by being present.

At its peak, in 2001, aurora tourism brought in $13.4 million for Yellowknife.

However, according to several in the industry, aurora tourism has an uncertain future.

Almost all tourists coming to Yellowknife during winter are here to see the northern lights - 95 per cent of them, according to a survey by the GNWT. The first company to capitalize on aurora tourism began in Yellowknife about 18 years ago.

Since then, companies catering to tourists eager to catch sight of the famous lights have helped bring thousands of them to Yellowknife. And the tourists don't hold back with their wallets.

"They may be here for just a few days but they spend their money," said Sage Suzuki, owner and operator of Canadian Ex Aurora Tours, one of the first aurora tourism companies. A GNWT report published in 2001 concluded that aurora tourism was "not a fad."

However, it cautioned that any further growth would require better infrastructure and tourist attractions. Which begs the question, six years later, how is this unique tourist draw faring?

Today, the aurora tourism business is still a relatively young industry - a mere 18-years-old. It's been strong so far, but it's going to get harder to survive, according to the more outspoken of those directly involved.

In a market that Yellowknife used to have cornered, competitors are coming fast and hard to take the tourists away.

"What was once deemed as an unsinkable Titanic is potentially at the verge of floundering," was how Daryl Dolynny, president and CEO of Aurora World put it.

Things changed after Sept. 11, he said.

The market, which Yellowknife used to dominate, is turning into a high-pressure, high-competition field, said Dolynny.

Business was "crazy good" before Sept. 11, said Ragnar Wesstrom, owner and operator of Enodah Wilderness Travel Ltd.

Then the planes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York City. Plane travel to Yellowknife subsequently plummeted.

"It was awful," said Wesstrom. He had just bought a whole fleet of snowmobiles earlier that year.

Today his company is still not seeing the numbers of tourists they were taking to admire the lights before Sept.11, said Wesstrom.

Statistics from NWT Tourism don't paint an overly hopeful picture for Yellowknife operators.

"Are numbers declining? It's more flat. It's definitely not growing at this point," said Ron Ostrom, marketing director for NWT tourism.

The landscape has changed today, said Dolynny - now there are many other factors at play.

One big concern many in the industry are watching is the growth in Alaska.

Fairbanks, Alaska sees at least 10 direct flights from Japan per year now, according to the operators.

Yellowknife does not have a runway long enough to handle aircraft larger than a 737, and operators said they have watched as tourists that might have come to Yellowknife are choosing to fly straight to Alaska. The tourists can't be blamed, said Wesstrom.

To get from Tokyo to Yellowknife is "gruelling," he said.

"Tokyo to Vancouver to Edmonton to Yellowknife. It takes around 24 hours all together. And most of them are only here for three days," he added, shaking his head.

"It's really hurting us," said Robin Wotherspoon, chairperson of NWT Tourism.

"Somewhere from 2,500 to 3,000 Japanese that might have come to us are now going to a different spot," she said.

The Department of Transportation is open to extending the runway, said the department's deputy minister, Russell Neudorf.

"We've actually secured the land so we could undertake an extension of the runway if and when it's required," he said.

Neudorf said that they are aware of the interest from aurora tourism operators, but the department wants to see concrete plans of how the operators would make use of the extended runway.

"We would like to see firm proposals or more detailed discussions," before committing to a new runway," said Neudorf.

As it is now, the airport meets the needs of the aircraft that use it, said Bob Kelly, Transportation's manager of communications.

Aurora tourism is also losing some Japanese clients because travel in Japan depends heavily on trends, and travellers tend to go with whatever is being promoted at the time, said Suzuki.

"It's difficult to explain," he said. "It is all promotion - whatever is cheap and people are talking about."

Another challenge recently added to the mix is the weather. The warmer winters Yellowknife has seen of late have tour operators biting their fingernails.

Warmer weather leads to more overcast nights - a nightmare for people whose livelihoods depend upon clear skies. All together, it's a more challenging field than it once was but that doesn't mean the industry is giving up.

"Hopefully we can find some new markets," said Wotherspoon. They are hard at work researching, she said. Mexico is showing promise, she added.

They are also planning to try marketing the aurora to the southern United States, said Ostrom. He has spoken to many Southerners who were "enamoured" with the northern lights. It gives him hope that there are other untapped markets out there, he said.

Other Asian countries are starting to wonder about the Japanese fascination with the aurora as well, said Suzuki.

"Asian countries follow each other," he said. "They get curious - 'let's go check it out.'"

Suzuki said he is starting to see more Koreans coming to chase aurora.

"They're following Japanese trends a bit," he said.

In 2003-04, 96.1 per cent of aurora tourists were able to see the aurora borealis. Of the people who saw the aurora, only seven per cent were disappointed with what they saw, according to a GNWT report.

Such statistics are not yet available for 2005-06, but Wesstrom said that last year all his clients were able to see the lights at least one night out of three.

What it comes down to is "companies need to adapt, change, weather the storm, change client mix to prepare for this type of global competition," said Dolynny.

"It's been tough, I'd be lying to you otherwise," he said.

-This concludes a three-part series examining aurora tourism.