I would like to inform the House that 24 travel agents and tour operators from England, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will spend one day and night in each of Yellowknife and Inuvik this week, on a tour facilitated by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
These international business representatives will tour and inspect the local sights, services and attractions in both communities and attend receptions to meet local tour operators and suppliers. The regional Economic Development and Tourism offices are organizing the tour and making final arrangements.
International travellers tend to book their vacations through agents and tour operators. It's important to increase awareness abroad of what the North has to offer as a quality travel destination. This is a productive and cost-effective means of marketing the North.
Partnerships which lead to increased business and tourism for NWT operators flow directly from tours like these. While less than 10 per cent of our visitors originate from outside the North American continent, this percentage will grow significantly over the next few years.
In addition to the Japanese, British and German markets showing strong interest in the North, Spain and Australia have been identified as emerging possible new markets.
This tour was offered to tourism business representatives attending Rendezvous Canada '96 in Edmonton as a postshow option. Rendezvous is an international travel trade show held each spring by the Canadian Tourism Commission to promote sales of Canadian tour packages to international buyers. Close to 60 registered delegates and groups expressed interest in the northern tour, although only 24 were selected because of space restrictions.
A number of industry partners are also contributing toward the success of this tour. NWT Air and Canadian North are the corporate sponsors for travel between Edmonton, Yellowknife and Inuvik. Hotels in both communities will be providing accommodation on a complimentary basis. A number of local tour operators and suppliers will also be providing their services free of charge.
On behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories, I offer our best wishes to these potential international tourism partners and wish them a very good visit.
--- Applause