SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Gather Canada's population together, triple it, and pack every member of that group into an airport in China.

Verda Law, principal with Yellowknife Tours, last week outlined the growing opportunities the city and the North as a whole have with the growing volume of Chinese travellers expected to visit Canada in the coming years. Law made her presentation during the NWT Chamber of Commerce business conference and AGM. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo

If you can picture that crowd, you're picturing the approximate number of outbound tourists it's anticipated China will propel into the world this year.

That number represents the steady climb in world prominence the Chinese tourist market has taken since 2000, when a mere 10.2 million

outbound tourists were recorded by the Germany-based China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

"We have to work together as an industry to make sure Canada gets its share of those visitors," said Yellowknife Tours operator Verda Law in a presentation to the NWT Chamber of Commerce last week.

Yellowknife Tours is a family-run business launched three years ago, just after the People's Republic of China added Canada to its list of approved destinations in 2010. Law recognized Canada's inclusion on that list as a great opportunity.

Since then, Yellowknife tours has grown from hosting fewer than 50 customers in 2011, to almost 700 in 2013. Between January and March of this year, Law said the company is already at 59 per cent of its total 2013 numbers.

"I'm very positive that this number will have dramatic growth this year," Law said.

According to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Chinese tourists spent almost half a billion dollars in Canada in 2012 (the most recent year for CTC data). Since 2010, the year Canada was added to the Chinese approved destination list, Chinese tourists spent an average of $402.7 million dollars a year in Canada.

Prior to 2010, Chinese tourist spending in Canada averaged $252 million per year. The value to the Canadian economy over the years 2010, 2011, and 2012 combined of the Chinese outbound tourist market was more than $1.2 billion.

"What does that tell us?" asked Law. "Maybe that's the market we should work on to get more people coming here."

"Our research and Canadian tourism research indicates that Canada is the most favoured destination now. There is indication that about 100,000 (Chinese people) are interested in coming to the North."

In the context of more than $400 million Chinese tourist dollars spent in Canada in 2011, the $1.5 million spent in the NWT by its portion of those tourists suggests there's room for growth.

"Today's travellers seek experiences that are authentic, engaging, and unforgettable," Law said. "Canada's got that, and the NWT has it even more."

"Our goal is to educate Asian markets that Yellowknife should be their travel destination for aurora viewing and unique wilderness adventures," Law said.

"We want to get them all to come visit (Yellowknife), and our businesses."

Family-run Yellowknife Tours has been working hard to promote the city and the territories. The number of international and domestic tourism trade shows they've attended adds up to more than the number of years they've been in business.

Law and family's hard work at home and abroad is paying off.

"We have happy customers attend trade shows to help promote Yellowknife Tours without even being asked," Law said. "Two major Chinese tour companies have sent three or four groups already this year. Now, in 2014/15, they will use Yellowknife and the NWT as designated travel destinations."

Aurora borealis viewing is the biggest part of their business, but Law said the territories offer a lot more potential for attracting Chinese tourists, including arctic adventures.

"They want to know our culture," Law said. "When they come here we try to give them different cultural experiences as well. We will bring them to aboriginal sites... we have cultural tours with (aboriginal) drumming and handgames."

"They want to experience that culture," Law said. "They are excited about it."

A complete Yellowknife experience means a spin-off effect for other businesses.

"I work with different tour operators in town to combine everything into a package, offering everything from ice fishing to dog sledding, to aurora viewing. Motels, hotels and retailers all benefit."

Law described the burgeoning Chinese tourist market as one that, for the most part, prefers a packaged product tailored to accommodate language and cultural barriers.

"The Chinese are more adapted to group travelling," she said. "They prefer package tours with accommodations, meals and tours included. On all our tours we have someone speaking their language who will accompany them for all their travels in Yellowknife or the NWT."

YK Tours provides the one-stop-shop experience Chinese tourists look for, and Law sees opportunity for Yellowknife and other NWT communities to work together to deliver a single, multi-faceted product.

The potential is limitless, she said, but only if we're paying attention.

"A lot of people living in Yellowknife don't realize how fortunate they are to have the aurora borealis right here," Law said.

"People overseas are spending lots of money just to fly over here and view the spectacular aurora borealis."

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