SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Confusion continues to reign over a territorial government program aimed to provide a safety net for visitors booking expensive trips to the territories.

Up until Wednesday, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) was reporting its Tourism Deposit Assurance program was "no longer available" on its website.

But that's not so says Kevin Todd, the department's North Slave regional superintendent. He said the program is still operational and there are no plans to end it. The department removed the errant web page shortly after Yellowknifer pointed it out.

Darren Campbell, communications manager for ITI, said the growing number of claims - the payouts for this season are already half of the total amount that have been paid out since the program's inception nearly two decades ago - are a concern and the department had previously removed information from the website as a result.

"We have to take money from other programs and services to process these claims. ITI is just considering a better way to address this," Campbell said.

However, Campbell said he didn't know why the website was saying the program wasn't available this week.

The assurance program was established to restore confidence in the territory's tourism industry, mainly with hunting and fishing lodges, after two fishing lodges on Great Bear Lake went out of business in the early 1990s.

Though rarely used, tourism operators regularly advertise the government program so that customers can expect a return of their deposit should the tourism operator cancel the trip or go out of business.

Customers booking a trip to a hunting camp in the NWT are typically expected to pay half up front for a visit that can cost $10,000 or more.

But the program's future was put in doubt last December after Todd sent out a letter to tourism operators saying the program is "under pressure," and the department "will not be receptive to claims ... from tourism operator clients for deposits made against future trips."

His letter stirred considerable anger, particularly among caribou hunting camp operators who feared the government was pulling the plug just when it was about to cancel the $5 million hunt due to declining caribou numbers so it wouldn't have to pay back deposits for a crush of cancellations expected this year.

A few days later, Campbell said the program was still active and the department was still accepting applications.

Now that there is no application information of any kind on either ITI's or NWT Tourism's website, Campbell insisted this week that most operators know about the program and refer clients to the department. He said tourists also contact the department directly when they feel they didn't get what they paid for.

While the program may give tourists peace of mind, it isn't a fail safe insurance policy.

Todd said people don't automatically get 100 per cent of their deposit back, though there's no cap on the total amount the department can spend.

"There's no guarantee. It could go anywhere from zero to 100 per cent," he said. "The minister looks at the applications and makes a determination as to what will get paid out," he said.

Once the GNWT repays the client, the company that made the booking has 90 days to pay the debt back. Refunds for companies that have already gone bankrupt become bad debts.

"That's a cost we have to eat," Campbell said.

Todd admitted, "It's pretty tough to pursue someone who's in bankruptcy so there's a limit to what you can actually do to collect the money."

He maintained the status of the company's finances wouldn't affect how much the tourist got back.

"I don't think it would really matter if the firm went out of business or didn't go out of business. The fund is there to protect the consumer," he said.

According to Todd not only is the program still functioning, but the number of people applying for refunds is way up.

So far the department has paid out $36,600 to 20 clients and Todd said people are still able to apply for refunds for the 2009/2010 season.

According to Todd, none of the claims made to the department are the result of the caribou ban. He attributes the spike to a fishing lodge that went out of business. Campbell said ITI is still trying to collect payment from that company, which he would not name.

Based on the pitfalls of losing money when businesses fail, Campbell said the department is considering modifying the program or shifting it over to the NWT Tourism Association, but that's "not a done deal." He also said the department is encouraging outfitters to get clients to pay deposits on credit cards, which have a built-in refund option.

Outfitter Barry Taylor, who owns Arctic Safaris, said the program served an important purpose by showing that the GNWT supported hunting and fishing lodges. He said the government is backing off just when outfitters need it the most.

"They can't seem to make up their minds," he said. "I'm not going to throw thousands of brochures in the garbage thanks to them changing their minds again."