Column: Diamond tourism: Can this work?
N.W.T. prepares for rich girls on bling flings
Oct 31 2005
CBC News
Residents of Yellowknife may be coming into contact with some very wealthy tourists this winter.
The N.W.T. launched its diamond tourism program earlier this month, marketing the territor – mainly in southern Canada, the U.S. and Japan – as an exotic and alluring place to shop for jewelry.
Travel packages are geared to target markets such as engaged couples and couples celebrating anniversaries.
But what's being called an "over-the-top" package is also being sold.
"They come up in a private jet, have a lovely day at a lodge, the last day they actually come here, pick out their diamond, get their names laser-inscribed on it and off they go," says Hillary Jones, director of Arslanian Cutting Works in Yellowknife.
"But, the one I find really exciting is the 'bling fling'. It's where 10 ladies get together and come explore the North, see the aurora and buy diamonds. It's a girls'-weekend-that's-gone-wild sort of thing."
Government, tourism companies and the secondary diamond industry all want to promote
diamond-related travel to the territory.
The plan is expected to increase the money visitors spend in the N.W.T. and promote the region around the world.
A publicity company has been hired to market travel packages through a high-end travel company in Toronto.
An evaluation of the diamond tourism program in 2006 will determine how much consumer
interest there is in picking up N.W.T. diamonds in the North.
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Arctic Comment
Dec. 7, 2005
According to the numbers, the Northwest Territories is owner of Canada's hottest economy, derived mostly from natural resources, and diamonds in particular. But while the value of what's taken from the ground counts as part of the NWT's gross domestic product, the money actually takes flight to other parts of the world through royalties, which currently end up in Ottawa, as well as profits reaped by the company selling the diamonds, which is based far, far away.
Years ago, the territorial government tried to keep more diamond wealth in the North by helping finance a number of diamond cutting and polishing houses here in Yellowknife. Unable to compete with foreign countries making use of labourers with the same skill at a fraction of the price, the result has been what some would call a disaster, others simply a mistake. The loss from one operation is believed to have cost the territorial government upwards of $6.5 million.
Aside from the mistakes made, it seems clear our leaders know the NWT definitely needs another stream of revenue in order to have any chance of building something which resembles more a balanced economy than a giant mineral extraction operation.
For years, tourism has seemed to hold the potential to be that stream. In Yellowknife, you can see the occassional Japanese tourist - visible by the sorels found on their feet during all months of the year. But talking with locals, even the number of Japanese making the Northern Aurora Borealis trips seems to have dropped in recent years.
This is not the time to get into why traditional tourism does not seem to be taking off in the NWT. The Diamond Tourism initiative hopes to generate more interest from people with the money to make the trip happen. But according to rumblings from a number of journalists brought North for their own "bling fling," the offerings seem unimpressive, with tales told of an eight-hour tour of Yellowknife that would make Gilligan go insane.
Now whenever you take something and open it up to a bunch of reporters, you run the risk of bad publicity. But for the government's sake, I hope the problem with these tour packages has more to do with the reporters being outside the target market than with the fact they've spent a lot of money to promote a dud idea.
Zai jian
Oct 31 2005
CBC News
Residents of Yellowknife may be coming into contact with some very wealthy tourists this winter.
The N.W.T. launched its diamond tourism program earlier this month, marketing the territor – mainly in southern Canada, the U.S. and Japan – as an exotic and alluring place to shop for jewelry.
Travel packages are geared to target markets such as engaged couples and couples celebrating anniversaries.
But what's being called an "over-the-top" package is also being sold.
"They come up in a private jet, have a lovely day at a lodge, the last day they actually come here, pick out their diamond, get their names laser-inscribed on it and off they go," says Hillary Jones, director of Arslanian Cutting Works in Yellowknife.
"But, the one I find really exciting is the 'bling fling'. It's where 10 ladies get together and come explore the North, see the aurora and buy diamonds. It's a girls'-weekend-that's-gone-wild sort of thing."
Government, tourism companies and the secondary diamond industry all want to promote
diamond-related travel to the territory.
The plan is expected to increase the money visitors spend in the N.W.T. and promote the region around the world.
A publicity company has been hired to market travel packages through a high-end travel company in Toronto.
An evaluation of the diamond tourism program in 2006 will determine how much consumer
interest there is in picking up N.W.T. diamonds in the North.
---------------------------------------------
Arctic Comment
Dec. 7, 2005
According to the numbers, the Northwest Territories is owner of Canada's hottest economy, derived mostly from natural resources, and diamonds in particular. But while the value of what's taken from the ground counts as part of the NWT's gross domestic product, the money actually takes flight to other parts of the world through royalties, which currently end up in Ottawa, as well as profits reaped by the company selling the diamonds, which is based far, far away.
Years ago, the territorial government tried to keep more diamond wealth in the North by helping finance a number of diamond cutting and polishing houses here in Yellowknife. Unable to compete with foreign countries making use of labourers with the same skill at a fraction of the price, the result has been what some would call a disaster, others simply a mistake. The loss from one operation is believed to have cost the territorial government upwards of $6.5 million.
Aside from the mistakes made, it seems clear our leaders know the NWT definitely needs another stream of revenue in order to have any chance of building something which resembles more a balanced economy than a giant mineral extraction operation.
For years, tourism has seemed to hold the potential to be that stream. In Yellowknife, you can see the occassional Japanese tourist - visible by the sorels found on their feet during all months of the year. But talking with locals, even the number of Japanese making the Northern Aurora Borealis trips seems to have dropped in recent years.
This is not the time to get into why traditional tourism does not seem to be taking off in the NWT. The Diamond Tourism initiative hopes to generate more interest from people with the money to make the trip happen. But according to rumblings from a number of journalists brought North for their own "bling fling," the offerings seem unimpressive, with tales told of an eight-hour tour of Yellowknife that would make Gilligan go insane.
Now whenever you take something and open it up to a bunch of reporters, you run the risk of bad publicity. But for the government's sake, I hope the problem with these tour packages has more to do with the reporters being outside the target market than with the fact they've spent a lot of money to promote a dud idea.
Zai jian
posted by Brent Reaney at 4:20 PM
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