With the NWT Parks reservation system having officially opened on April 5, in phases, the opening numbers show a dip for NWT campsites compared to 2021.
By the end of the first week — April 5 to 8 — 3,029 reservations were made for 2022, which is less than last year’s opening number of 3,763, according to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI).
Of all the sites, North Slave parks drew the greatest interest with 2,371 bookings processed during the first four days days. Last year’s figures were also based on four days from the opening week.
ITI also stated that its registration system had more than 70,000 page views.
A quarter of visits to the website from April 5 to 8 included 23 per cent of viewers from the United States and two per cent from elsewhere from outside of Canada.
Meanwhile in the Beaufort Delta, 90 per cent of total reservations came from outside of the NWT. By comparison, 48 per cent of reservations made for South Slave parks and the 40 per cent made for the Dehcho came from outside the territory.
Only six per cent of bookings in the North Slave came from outside of the NWT.