NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
More campers visited the territory this summer as attendance increased in the parks both in the Beaufort Delta and South Slave regions.

Two people stare out towards Cameron Falls in the Hidden Lake Territorial Park near Yellowknife. More people camped in the territory's park this past summer, according to the director of tourism and parks. - photo courtesy of the Government of the Northwest Territories

Attendance was up about seven-and-a-half per cent compared to the previous year in the Inuvik region, but below the 2009 peak year, said Richard Zieba, director of tourism and parks with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

In the South Slave region, there is an increasing trend although, he added, he could not provide specific numbers as many parks in that region don't use the online reservation system. Four territorial parks are in the Inuvik region while eight are in the South Slave, with the season typically running from May 15 to Sept. 15.

Park of the increase attendance could be due to advertising in Inuvik and the Deh Cho regions, said Zieba.

“We did a very specific targeted marketing campaign for parks last year, the first year we have done something like that so we advertised in some magazines that appeal specifically to campers, like Milepost is one,” he said of the Alaska travel guide publication.

He added the department also did a direct mail campaign to communities in northern Alberta.

“We know that has had a positive impact. We see an increase from those communities that we did the mailing to,” said Zieba, adding they will continue the advertising campaign next year. “Fingers always crossed when you try something new but for the direct mail, we did a very careful and planned approach. We actually worked with a research company that allowed us to segment our campers.”

Two types of campers visit the territory, said Zieba. The first are the so-called rustic families, people who live in rural areas and are interested in fishing and camping. The second are the empty nesters, who do long-haul travel trips with their tent trailers or RVs.

Most of the campers come from Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario with more visitors starting to come from Quebec, said Zieba. He added the American market is rebounding after seeing a decrease for several years. The visitors comment on how spacious the campground sites are, said Zieba.

“We get very good feedback for our park systems,” he said “From the visitors from outside the territory, people are very pleased with how clean the parks are. Between friendliness of park staff who are operating the parks and the cleanliness in the parks, we get good reviews.”

The department is redoing its online reservation system this year to make it more user friendly. It will also be integrated into the parks' sites.

“You will be able to select sites based on amenities, like their size. A lot of the RVs need a minimum size and turning radius so you will be able to do a search and select sites on that basis,” said Zieba. “You will be able to do bookings for multiple sites in one transaction ... That wasn't the case before.”

NWT Tourism marketed both territorial and federal parks in the NWT, working closely with Parks Canada and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and resulted in the success of the increased numbers, wrote Brian Desjardins, the executive director of the NWT Tourism, in an e-mail.

“Not surprised (attendance is up), we have some of the best campgrounds in the world. Some award winning,” he stated. “Very well maintained by territorial government (tourism and parks), fantastic parks staff, excellent facilities, etc. "We offer less congested camping spaces than our southern counterparts."

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