Tourism good for Nunavut: premier

Recreational fishing is an underdeveloped, potential money-maker in Nunavut, participants at the Nunavut tourism conference in Iqaluit heard March 19. (FILE PHOTO)

What tourism can do for Nunavut, that was the focus of Premier Eva Aariak’s opening remarks March 19 at Nunavut Tourism’s three-day tourism conference in Iqaluit.

“Nunavut is a very unique tourist destination, and even people who are already interested in visiting us will be surprised when they arrive here. Very few destinations offer travellers so much diversity and excitement,” Aariak said.

In her speech Aariak emphasized how tourism dovetails with her government’s mandate, Tamapta: Building Our Future Together, in which the GN committed to supporting “community-based sustainable economies.”

Aariak said there are many reasons — economic, social, cultural and diplomatic — “to build a vibrant and dynamic tourism sector in Nunavut.”

But her speech was short on why members of the tourist industry should invest in Nunavut.

And some at the conference, which has attracted tourism operators from Canada and Greenland, said they expected to hear more from Aariak about the state of tourism in Nunavut.

“I wanted her to tell me what’s going on here,” said a conference participant from western Canada.

As for how much the tourism industry is now worth to Nunavut, Nunavut Tourism’s last exit survey in 2008 shows tourism brought in $30 million to Nunavut, said Nunavut Tourism’s executive director, Colleen Dupuis said — a figure some at the conference debated, suggesting that figure was too low.

A March 20 morning presentation on the results from the 2010 recreational fishery, which did include many statistics, showed the challenges which face that underdeveloped sector of Nunavut’s tourist industry.

The numbers showed a drop of 35.5 per cent in recreation fishing days between 2005 and 2010.

Revenues from recreational fishing also dropped from $2.3 million in 2005 to $1 million in 2010, mainly from non-beneficiary residents of Nunavut who needed licenses.

At the same time, recreational fishing could represent a good source of tourism revenues for Nunavut.

Wayne Lynch from the Government of Nunavut’s fisheries and sealing division said recreational fishing guarantees a “higher level of economic activity than any other form of fish utilization.”

As well, recreational fishing is good for stocks, due to its high level and catch and release, those fishing express a “high level of satisfaction,” and recreational fishing attracts many through “positive word of mouth.”

Only 31 non-residential fishing permits were handed out in 2010 — a situation Nunavut Tourism is working on to improve, Dupuis said.