Oct.29, 2018
For the first time, the GNWT’s Tourism Business Mentorship program is fully subscribed.
Participants from five tourism businesses will receive expert mentorship from the Canadian Executive Service Organization’s (CESO) pool of tourism industry talent.
This latest intake kicks off the third year since the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) has partnered with CESO to deliver mentorships.
Related:
CESO brings an international reputation of excellence in nearly 50-years of business mentorship experience, with over 50,000 assignments successfully delivered in 122 countries worldwide — including a successful 14-year partnership with the Government of Nunavut, and assignments in 80 percent of Canadian Indigenous communities.
Adding Value For Business
There are a number of examples of how this partnership has helped bring businesses to the next level.
Perhaps most notably was Andrew Moore’s Yellowknife Sport Fishing Adventures, which saw a huge increase in business after working with his CESO mentor to sharpen his business practices.
Moore’s mentorship focused on marketing and sales, including social media and website management. By the end of the placement, there was a 3000% increase in website hits, and 2019 is already flooded with new bookings.
Andrew’s Full Story:
Yellowknife Sport Fishing Business Sees Success with Tourism Mentorship Program
Moore recommends the program to those looking to get ahead in their tourism business.
“100%. I would recommend the Tourism Business Mentorship Program to anybody and any business that it is available to,” Moore says. “It opened my eyes and opened doors for me that would have taken me years of work and a lot of extra money to figure out. And we did all of that in four days.”
Building the Local Industry
With tourism booming in the NWT, mentorship opportunities are an important tool for building capacity in the local industry.
This was identified in Tourism 2020, the department’s overarching plan to invest in tourism and meet the demands of growth.
It’s one part of the GNWT’s push for a more diverse economy. The NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy guides these efforts.
