January 21, 2019
It’s one of the fastest trending bucket-list rides in Canada: Up the Dempster and then from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk on the ITH. “It’s that once-in-a-lifetime trip that many are planning to do again,” says Minerva Ward ITI’s Tourism Development Officer in the Beaufort Delta Region.
Ward joined the Inuvik-based Arctic Motorcycle Adventures at the popular Calgary Motorcycle Show Jan 10-12, 2020. In just 3-days, approximately 600 people stopped in to gather information about the ride to Canada’s North coast.
Questions varied from the type of bikes and tires that are most suited to gravel highways; to where to stay, get gas and eat. Many were interested in information on NWT Parks and available camping facilities.
Related: Programs in Action: Arctic Motorcycle Adventures Reaches the Top of the World
“The ride to Tuktoyaktuk is quickly becoming the trip that all long-distance Canadian bikers want to do,” Ward explains. “We met riders who had done the trip in the last 2 years and many more who are planning on doing the trip in the next 3 years. Those who have already done the trip are great advocates and promotors to others.”
Arctic Motorcycle Adventures, with the help of funding from the GNWT’s Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program (TPDMP), will also be attending motor cycle shows in Edmonton and Vancouver in advance of their next season.
Motorcycle riders are an important market segment for the Beaufort Delta. They stay in hotels and campgrounds in the communities and buy groceries, services and meals during their stay.
Want to learn more about the Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program? Click here
Programs like the TPDMP are one of the ways Industry, Tourism and Investment is helping to strengthen the Northwest Territories’ tourism offerings. For more information on other tourism programs click here.