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Visitor Centre visits spike in June

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Peter Magill, the town's tourism and economic development co-ordinator, said there was a "very, very marked increase" in visits to the Visitor Information Centre this June. Sidney Cohen/NNSL photo

Visits to the Hay River's tourism information centre skyrocketed this June.

According to data released by the town on July 12, about 688 people stopped in at the Visitor Information Centre last month.

Peter Magill, the town's tourism and economic development co-ordinator, said there was a "very, very marked increase" in visits to the Visitor Information Centre this June. Sidney Cohen/NNSL photo

That is more than three times the number of visitors that came through in June of 2017 (223 visitors), and close to five times the number of visitors in May (145).

Peter Magill, the town's tourism and economic development co-ordinator, said a variety of factors contributed to the spike in June visits.

For one, said Magill, a number of "bucket-list people" came into Hay River on their way to the new Inuvik-to-Tuktoyuktuk Highway.

"They're actually coming this far in and then travelling down Liard (highway) and then up the Dempster (highway)," he said on July 16.

"A lot of people have been saying that they've seen the majority of Canada, and the Northwest Territories is one area they haven't been to yet."

Another factor, he said, was the free access to national parks that was granted in 2017 as part of Canada 150 celebrations.

"It really rekindled Canadians' interest in seeing more of Canada," said Magill.

Though adults now have to pay entry fees, national parks remain free for children and youth.

Magill said the visitor centre also saw a number of Alberta tourists who were doing weekend road trips up north.

About 83 per cent of people who popped into the visitor centre were Canadian, six per cent were American, and two per cent were from Europe.

The influx of visitors at the tourist centre did not translate to an increase in hotel stays at the Ptarmigan Inn.

Actually, said operations manager Terry Rowe, there were fewer stays this June compared with June of 2017.

"We were down significantly from last year," said Rowe on July 16.

He said the hotel had a 51 per cent occupancy rate on average this June, which is well below the 66 per cent average occupancy rate in June of 2017.

"Tourism will probably have little to do with those numbers, maybe five per cent," said Rowe.

He said stays were down in June primarily because there were fewer corporate travellers.

"Sixty per cent of our business is business and government travellers," said Rowe.

Magill said the town continues to market Hay River and promote tourism on social media.

The Arctic Winter Games last March helped shine a spotlight on the South Slave region, and Hay River specifically, as a "destination, rather than just a place on the map," he said.

Gift shop sales at the visitor centre also rose in June, up 155 per cent compared with sales in May.

The shop now sells items from 24 area artisans.

"That's one thing that people have been asking for for years," said Magill. "They want to know where people can buy locally-made crafts."

In May, the visitor centre extended its hours for the summer. It is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekend.

Magill said Hay River is well placed for tourists, because it is about three hours' drive from various attractions in surrounding communities.

"If we can all work together in the South Slave," he said, "I think we could work to really grow this tourism market."