Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to give Mr. Miltenberger a break here today. I’d like to talk about tourism for my last set of questions. NWT Tourism likes to market the NWT as a premier world-wide tourist destination. However, hampered with a limited budget and a complex five regional marketing plan, it does beg to ask how we’re able to compete on the national and world stage when it comes to tourism. The traveller is more sophisticated than ever and is looking for that wow factor. My question has always been are we able to deliver at that level. With that in mind, my questions will be for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
A successful tourism economy depends on a skilled workforce and a world-class hospitality program.
Can the Minister inform the House how his department supports the development of human resources that will ensure that the visitors to the NWT will have this experience that exceeds this wow factor?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very proud of our record of support for skills development in the tourism industry. ITI has hosted numerous courses on boat safety and first aid to improve the level of safety of our tourism operations. We’ve developed a tourism hospitality program focused on Aboriginal people, and conducted many hospitality training workshops over the life of this government.
Our Tourism 2015 plan rested on three pillars: people, communities, and business. Continued investment in the skills of the people in this industry is essential for future economic growth, and I hope that the new government will continue to support the development of business acumen of our tourism entrepreneurs and the skills of people that they employ.
A recent article in the Huffington Post had Yellowknife as the fasted growing tourism destination in Canada. That’s a testament to the hard work and commitment of the folks in our tourism industry.
During the life of this government there have been two trade missions to China, costing taxpayers significant investment.
Can the Minister stand before this House and clearly demonstrate a tangible benefit from these junket missions?
Again, we’re very proud of the work that we’ve done in China. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of visitors from China, since a handful in the low hundreds in 2010, to between January of last year and July this year, well over 7,000 Chinese visitors. We have recently hosted the ambassador from China to Canada here in Yellowknife, in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.
We’ve only really scratched the surface at the potential of the Chinese market. Markets in Asia remain fertile ground for us when it comes to tourism and attracting more folks here, and undoubtedly, the next government will be conducting further missions to promote and market the Northwest Territories to Asian markets, specifically China, Japan, and others.
For the record, NWT has a handicap in tourism and marketing investment compared to the rest of Canada. Two years ago this Assembly approved a substantial increase to its marketing budget for the NWT Tourism.
Can the Minister of ITI provide us with a brief description of the benefits with that increased funding that he received?
The numbers I spoke of earlier, I think a direct correlation can be drawn with the fact that this government, and with the support of that side of the House, supported the increased efforts in marketing our tourism industry here in the Northwest Territories, promoting the products that we have here, and I think the numbers we’re starting to see now are paying off. That investment is certainly paying off.
We shouldn’t kid ourselves, though. Out of the 13 jurisdictions in this country, the Northwest Territories ranks 12th in terms of what we put into marketing the tourism industry. We have seen some substantial growth. But if we look across to our west and into the Yukon, they spend $7 million on marketing their tourism industry on an annual basis and we’re at about $2 million. Really, we have to find a way and a means to continue to support the marketing efforts and promoting the products and services in the tourism industry here in the Northwest Territories, not just domestically here in Canada or in North America and the United States but also internationally. We have made some big strides over the last four years, and as I had mentioned earlier, the potential is immense when it comes to the Asian market.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister is aware, his department was provided additional funding for tourism programs under the Economic Opportunities Strategy.
Can the Minister tell the House what benefits were derived from this investment?
One of the primary contributions through the EOS and the recommendation was for a convention bureau. We funded that at $100,000 a year. That’s had a direct impact. We’ve been able to attract conferences, hopefully, bringing well over a million dollars in economic impact here to the Northwest Territories. Looking at the regional marketing dollars, $50,000 goes into each region to allow the regions to market products specifically in their own region. We have resources for product development that have allowed investment in community tourism, leveraging over a million dollars in federal funding from CanNor. EOS funding for community tourism infrastructure was invested in projects and communities across the Northwest Territories including Tsiigehtchic, Inuvik, Jean Marie River, Kakisa, Hay River, Tulita and Yellowknife.
As I mentioned, we don’t have the biggest marketing budget, so wherever possible we need to take those dollars we have and leverage them to try to maximize the exposure that the Northwest Territories gets both on the national and international stage.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Hawkins.
