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KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET
Cape Dorset tourists may only make up a small percentage of Nunavut's total visitors, but the hamlet is looking to capitalize on southern and international interests in the Arctic.

Kristiina Alariaq owns and operates Dorset Suites and Huit Huit Tours. In a small community, it's all about multitasking, she says. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

Nunavut Tourism doesn't track visitor numbers in Cape Dorset due to the fact that it doesn't currently have a visitor centre there. However, the hamlet was identified as a possible location for a Nunavut Heritage Centre or a visitor and interpretation centre in the five-year tourism strategy released last month.

In the meantime, one of two accommodation businesses in Cape Dorset has been expanding to meet the demands of both businesses and leisure travellers.

"In a small place like this, you have to do a little bit of everything," said Kristiina Alariaq, co-owner of Dorset Suites and Huit Huit Tours, which she runs with her husband Timmun Alariaq.

Between the two companies, the couple offers accommodations, catering, conference hosting, and guided tours tailored to a plethora of interests.

Kristiina and Timmun recently completed construction of a new seven-suite building complete with a full kitchen costing more than $4 million.

Previously, Kristiina would have to cook catered meals in her home and then transport the food to hotel.

Multitasking has a lot to do with predicting what visitors might be looking for, whether it means ordering extra-long mattresses so construction workers in town on contracts can sleep comfortably or keeping a selection of community art on hand for tourists looking for a meaningful souvenir.

Since the hamlet's Kinngait Studios, the oldest operating print shop in Canada, sends most of the artwork its artists produce to its Toronto marketing branch, the Alariaqs often have one of the best selections of local art available for purchase, said Bill Ritchie, studio manager of Kinngait Studios.

Western Arctic Eskimo Cooperative Ltd., which sits just down the hill from Dorset Suite's newest building, sells locally-made carvings and prints which are not sent to southern galleries.

The biggest obstacle to keeping a business like Dorset Suites profitable is ensuring that patrons' experiences meet the expectations of prices that are typically higher than what is found in the south. The average $200-per-night costs are necessary to balance out high utility costs and wages for staff but customers have high expectations to match the price, Kristiina said.

Arranged art tours

Ritchie said a "big draw" to those visiting the hamlet are tours of Kinngait Studios where people can learn about how the work is made and visit with the artists.

As a result, the studio is involved in developing a centre that could function as both a studio and tourist attraction.

"We're presently in the process of designing and building a new studio and culture centre to address the tourism issue," said Ritchie, adding the hamlet used to open a small but similar location in the summers that was popular with visitors.

"This time it will be all-year round. There will be staff to show you through an exhibit, to interpret Cape Dorset and the history. Our print shop will be moving up there so when you're done, your tour can actually watch people making their prints."

Recently, a guided tour and travel company contacted the studio to set up an art-focused visit for two people looking for the Cape Dorset art experience.

"We set it up so they could access the studios, hang with the artists and printers for as long as they wanted. This is the first time I had ever experienced an arranged tour through a tour company and it was really successful," said Ritchie.

"It's the way of the future, I reckon. Why would you come and not have the experience you are looking for? You might as well arrange it."

-- with files from Danielle Sachs

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