SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Residents got their first glimpse at the city's plans to re-vamp Yellowknife's tourism industry last week.

Two open houses April 22 at the Northern Frontier Visitors' Centre checked in with residents on the outline for the city's new five-year tourism strategy. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

Public sessions were held over the lunch hour and in the evening April 22 so that the city, as well as Victoria-based Chemical Consulting, could check in with Yellowknifers to make sure they are on the right track so far.

Feedback was generally positive, said Nalini Naidoo, communications manager with the City of Yellowknife.

“A lot of what we saw in the feedback is there are things that are happening in the city that could become tourism assets,” she said.

“If it's good for residents, it's good for tourists as well.” Resident Stephanie Yuill, who attended the evening session, agreed that more should be done to leverage the affordable – and even free – things to do in the city that the current tourism marketing spearheaded by the GNWT's NWT Tourism doesn't touch on.

The message that NWT tourists can see muskox, doll sheep, narwhal and paddle the Nahanni while on their adventure North of 60 is not realistic for most tourists because of the hefty price tag, she said.

“It think it's really important that we don't misrepresent ourselves,” said Yuill. “There are a host of affordable things to do right in our backyard.”

The benefits of promoting the city's lesser-known and more affordable assets could both increase tourism satisfaction, but also help short-term Yellowknifers who live in the city for a few years and visiting family members make the most of their time in the North, said Naidoo.

Another common theme was the lack of a single website or event calendar where people can easily find what is going on in Yellowknife at any given time of the year.

Sally Joyce, manager of Northern Images on Franklin Avenue, said that a simple Yelllowknife.ca website could act as a “first-line sell” for those who may learn about the city on television shows like Ice Road Truckers and look to find out more online.

“In this day of complexity and the information age, many people appreciate simplicity,” she said.

For the most part, tourists who filter through the Northern Images gallery are happy with what Yellowknife has to offer, primarily the aurora, said Joyce. The number two highlight is usually meeting with locals, something she said could be taken advantage of through more eco-tourism programs.

The final tourism strategy, which is believed to be the city's first, is expected to be presented to committee and then council by mid-summer, said Naidoo.

The city allocated $50,000 of funding from the Canadian Northern Development Agency (CanNor) to develop the strategy.

Action items that will need budget dollars will have to wait until the city's next fiscal year begins in January, but items like joining the NWT Tourism board could be implemented sooner, she said.

“NWT Tourism focuses on getting people to the Northwest Territories and the Canadian Tourism Commission, they get people to Canada. It just so happens that Yellowknife is the first point of arrival in most cases. NWT Tourism, their job is not to just promote Yellowknife, so how can we work within their structure to help promote the City of Yellowknife?” asked Naidoo.

“What do we need to do to enhance the tourist's experience once they get to our city?”