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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - If you build it, they will come.

In the case of Ragnar Wesstrom, owner of Enodah Wilderness Travel and Trout Rock Lodge located on the North Arm of Great Slave lake, he already knows they're coming.

To accommodate more guests at his lodge, which doubles as a winter getaway for Japanese tourists and a summer fishing haven for pike-seeking sportsmen, Wesstrom is building a new complex for his guests and adding more room to his main lodge for business conferences and work summits.

Ragnar Wesstrom, owner of Enodah Wilderness Travel and Trout Rock Lodge, is adding 16 beds to his lodge, located on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"We just finished up the foundations and the floors of the meeting/conference facility and the new four-plex, which contains 16 more beds," said Wesstrom.

"There's four units in the four-plex, and each unit has its own shower and flush toilet."

The complex will be located in front of the shower house within the camp that flanks Wesstrom's main lodge.

Work on the additions started three weeks ago and is being carried out by Yellowknife contractor B&C Construction.

"The deadline for completion is May 31," said Wesstrom.

"Everything has to be 100 per cent finished. That's when our first Americans are coming in. They're already booked."

B&C owner Brian Baggs said he is confident the job will get done on time.

"We're waiting to get material for the freeze-up," said Baggs.

"In mid-December we'll be putting building material in. It will be completed in May."

Two or three full-time workers will be working virtually non-stop, added Baggs.

That's not the only change Wesstrom is planning for his lodge.

When contacted by Yellowknifer, Wesstrom, who travels everywhere from Las Vegas to Japan to promote his lodge, was waiting for a 10 a.m. plane to South Korea.

The Canadian Tourism Commission set up a meeting between Wesstrom and several travel agencies in Seoul to provide Wesstrom an opportunity to target South Korean clients.

"It's an opportunity to talk about the winter packages that we've been doing with the Japanese for 15 years," said Wesstrom.

"It's my first time in Korea, so it will be interesting to see what kind of response we get."

Asked how many South Koreans he currently receives at his lodge, Wesstrom replied "Not very many. That's why I'm going there."

Following his visit to Seoul, Wesstrom will move on to Japan, where he touches down every year.

Attendance among Japanese visitors to Enodah has gone down in recent years due to the closing of one Yellowknife aurora viewing operator, according to Wesstrom.

"One of our main suppliers (of guests), Canadian Ex Aurora Tours, shut down its doors," he said.

"We were working with them for 15 years. Eighty per cent of our business was Canadian Ex."