SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Deh Cho Travel Connection maps out an adventure route that brushes past Yellowknife by more than 300 kilometres, so why would the city promote its travel contest and donate a diamond prize?

To snag their travellers, of course.

The Northern Frontier Visitors Centre is one of 24 places to get your Deh Cho "passport" stamped. - Kira Curtis/NNSL photo

"By promoting the route you get people that are that much closer (to Yellowknife)," says Peter Neugebauer, director of economic development for the City of Yellowknife.

This is the third year in row the city has promoted this contest for a route that circles the Deh Cho region, looping the Alaska Highway and the Mackenzie Highway through B.C., Alberta and the NWT.

The idea is to get tourists to pick up a "passport" before heading out on the 2,200-kilometre journey between May 15 and Sept. 1.

Along the way there are a number of locations to get your book stamped. Twelve stamps enters you in a prize draw, and one of the 24 stamping locations is at the Northern Frontier Visitors Centre in Yellowknife.

Hoping to add to the allure of Yellowknife, the grand prize this year was a 0.5 carat Polar Bear diamond, cut and polished in the city, worth $7,600. That and with Yk being the capital city, Neugebauer is hoping many of these Deh Cho travellers will veer off the circle route and drive the 319 kilometres from Fort Providence, then back again to carry on.

This is no easy-riding road trip. Approximately 400 kilometres of the trip is on an unpaved and often uneven road that is known to rattle and shake vehicles from the Highway 1 and 3 junction to the B.C. border past Fort Liard. But Mike Couvrette, regional programs co-ordinator with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment said this "drivable wilderness adventure" is safe for all types of people and vehicles.

"The majority of the route is paved road, and we encourage people to check the highway road conditions," Couvrette said.

The contest is relatively new and the Deh Cho region is rugged and not for the soft traveller, but Neugebauer said he believes in the contest and is sticking to it. This year the contest drew between 300 and 400 "passport" holders, but the numbers aren't in on how many visited Yellowknife.

"Development takes time," Neugebauer said.

Keeping true to the outdoor traveller image the Deh Cho carries, this year's grand prize winner of the diamond was from one of the most rugged states in America: Colorado.