October 26, 2022

Minister of Industry Tourism and Investment, Caroline Wawzonek addressed members of Northwest Territories Tourism (NWTT) on Wednesday at their annual general meeting and conference in Hay River. Minister of Industry Tourism and Investment, Caroline Wawzonek addressed members of Northwest Territories Tourism (NWTT) on Wednesday at their annual general meeting and conference in Hay River.

In a recorded address, she commended tourism operators for their resilience noting “(ITI) programs would not have been successful without the tourism industry making such positive and thoughtful use of them.”  

The Minister drew on her own “bucket list level” experiences in the communities of Délı̨nę and Łutselk'e to highlight two of the strongest themes for predicted industry growth in 2022: Indigenous cultural experiences and opportunities for sustainable or regenerative tourism.

“Jurisdictions are thinking about where or how to create these products...(yet)  authentic experiences and sustainable tourism is a big part of what we already have in the NWT”, she said.

Acknowledging that there is still significant post-pandemic recovery that needs to happen, the Minister expressed her confidence in the ability of the NWT’s tourism sector to collectively succeed. 

“One of the reasons I feel confident, is because of the way in which we all worked together to get through the pandemic,” she said.

 “Together, we have worked and invested with focus and dedication to ensure that the NWT tourism industry could make it to the point where we are today - ready to get back to doing what we each do best and, I believe, take advantage of the renewed focus on tourism, and in particular opportunities in tourism that we have in abundance, to not only recover but thrive.

You can Read the Minister’s full speech.