Mr. Speaker, in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, there was a tremendous increase in the number of visitors and visitor spending in the Northwest Territories, and today I would like to share details of this exciting growth with Members.
Last year we welcomed over 90,000 visitors. This is our highest number of visitors in the last decade and an increase of 20 percent from the previous year.
Visitor spending also rose by 24 percent to $132.5 million.
Tourism is this territory’s largest renewable resource-based sector and these numbers demonstrate that this government and our partners
are on the right track to promoting the NWT as a spectacular destination.
Last year the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment increased funding to NWT Tourism, the GNWT’s destination marketing organization, by $1.2 million. The visitor numbers I just shared with you demonstrate that increased investment in marketing achieves results.
The two largest factors for this increase are aurora viewing and business travel. The number of aurora viewing visitors has been on the rise over the last five years, with a substantial 38 percent increase last year.
The NWT is known as the Aurora Capital of the World and clearly this message is reaching far beyond our borders. Our marketing efforts overseas, particularly in China, Japan and Korea, are paying off, and we expect the demand for aurora tourism to continue to increase.
The number of business travellers also grew by an unprecedented 47 percent and the GNWT is well-positioned to strike while the iron is hot. As I shared with you last week, the NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy recommended we establish a conference bureau to support business travel. We took action on this recommendation and signed a contribution agreement with NWT Tourism to establish this bureau last June.
NWT Tourism now provides support to conference planners looking to host events in this territory. Not only will this strengthen our business travel sector but it will provide spin-off benefits for all sectors, including transportation suppliers, hotels, restaurants, artisans and tour operators in all regions. NWT Tourism has already assisted conference planners who are interested in holding conferences here and is working to attract new ones.
We are also working with our partners and lodge operators to strengthen those areas of tourism that have experienced a decline, such as the number of fishing visitors from the United States. Through better research and the launch of a marketing campaign, we are working to improve these numbers.
Mr. Speaker, last year’s numbers bode well for the future of tourism in the NWT, and ITI is dedicated to seeing all sectors and all communities thrive. With a dedicated industry and focused strategies in place, tourism will continue to provide great economic benefits for the NWT and contribute to a diversified and sustainable economy for our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.