Nunavut MLA questions real dollar impact of cruise ships

Passengers from the giant Crystal Serenity cruise ship head to Cambridge Bay via zodiacs in August. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Sunny appraisals of the economic impact of Nunavut’s landmark cruise ship season may not tell the whole story, Tununiq MLA Joe Enook suggested to fellow members in Nunavut’s legislature, Nov. 3.

Enook questioned figures presented Nov. 1 by the Economic Development and Transportation Minister which said this summer’s 1,000-passenger Crystal Serenity II cruise had “a direct economic impact” of $110,000 in Cambridge Bay and $35,000 in Pond Inlet.

“This summer, out of the 13 cruise ships that landed in Pond Inlet, the hamlet income reached $51,000 from sales while their expenditures were approximately $42,000 or thereabouts,” Enook said. And those expenditures don’t include salaries for employees or overtime costs.

“If we are counting the profit from that, they only made slightly over $8,000.”

And the artists didn’t do much better either, Enook maintained.

Contrary to Monica Ell-Kanayuk’s Nov. 1 sentiments that visiting passengers “purchase carvings, prints and handmade crafts” and “leave with a better understanding of Inuit culture,” Enook said very little craft buying took place in Pond Inlet, with many artists complaining about low sales.

“They tend to purchase all the cheap items,” Enook said, and their spending does not equal the extensive planning undertaken by the hamlet to accommodate the cruise ship passengers whose numbers, in some cases, rival that of the actual population of the community they visit.

“When the tourists finally arrive, it seems a total waste of time just in looking at the paltry amounts spent in our communities.”

Ell-Kanayuk responded that “money spent by these tourists was calculated by employees from both of the listed communities.”

“What this statement means in this case, is that in Pond Inlet, when the passengers landed in the community, they purchased artwork and this figure is exactly that.”

Enook called on Ell-Kanayuk to conduct further research “to ensure that all parties have the same figures related to actual revenue and expenditures.”

“Will we ever have comparable correct figures here?” he asked.

Ell-Kanayuk—whose department is currently drafting new marine and tourism legislation—said more must be done to explain to communities and artists what international tourists can legally purchase.

“Sometimes communities only have sealskins or ivory tusks to carve, which can’t be imported to some countries and perhaps this was part of the problem,” she speculated.

“We ought to communicate with our hamlets on the acceptable materials that can be purchased.”

Ell-Kanayuk also said her department needs to work with communities to provide banking facilities, such as portable ATMs, for the visiting passengers—some of whom paid a minimum of $22,000 for berth aboard the Crystal Serenity.

“Some tourists like to purchase with plastic or credit cards,” she said.

“What we found was the need to offer this type of option, so that tourists could decide which manner of payment they wanted to use so that it would allow for more purchases.”

In Cambridge Bay, the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association did bring in a device with a wireless connection this past August, so that cruise ship visitors to its arts and crafts fair could pay for their purchases with credit cards.