CanNor, GN announce new money for Nunavut tourism

German tourists enjoy a throat singing performance at Arviat’s visitor centre during a 2013 visit to the Kivalliq community. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Nunavut’s tourism industry is getting a $1.5 million boost through money announced March 10 by the federal and territorial governments.

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency announced spending on tourism of $802,800 over two years, while the Government of Nunavut’s Economic Development and Transportation department will dole out $715,500 for tourism across the territory, the two governments announced in a March 10 news release.

The money will go towards community tourism project, a cruise ship management plan and tourism training for Nunavummiut in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun.

Funds will also go towards collecting and analyzing data to help track growth in the territory’s tourism revenue, air passenger and volume satisfaction.

“This investment means more opportunities for Nunavummiut who base their livelihood in this industry,” said Monica Ell, Nunavut’s minister of economic development and transportation, in the March 10 release.

“The funding also follows through on commitments made in Tunngasaiji: A Tourism Strategy for Nunavummiut.”

The strategy, released in 2013, noted that the territory’s tourism sector remains underdeveloped, and called for more tourism-related products and services, more participation in the sector among Inuit, and a framework on how to better engage communities in tourism development.

According to a 2011 visitor’s exit survey, the tourism sector in Nunavut contributed $40 million in revenue and employed over 1,200 Nunavummiut, who made $15 million in wages.

The survey also found that the average visitor to Nunavut is a well-to-do, well-educated man between 40 and 65, who is travelling alone for business and stays less than a week in the territory.