Nunavut’s tourism industry is quickly recovering from the pandemic, according to the territorial government’s Director of Tourism and Culture Industries, David Boyle who contends that the industry is recovering faster locally than it is nationally, with cruise ship visits to the territory actually surpassing pre-pandemic levels last year.

“Our tourism sector has bounced back a lot quicker than other jurisdictions, including in Canada, he said. “In 2022, our cruise ship sector was far larger than pre-COVID and we estimate there’s going to be continued growth in the cruise ship sub-sector.

Boyle attributes the Nunavut tourism industry’s rapid recovery from the pandemic to a few factors: the appeal of the territory itself, the pent-up appetite for travel among consumers, and the promotional work Destination Nunavut did during the pandemic.

“We have an exceptional product, he said. “Nunavut is unmatched around the globe, and we had a lot of pent-up demand during those two down years.

“We also have the Destination Nunavut marketing organization. We continued to market the territory during those COVID years, so when we did open up again, we had a flood of tourists.
Boyle contends that, if Nunavut’s tourism and arts businesses are properly nurtured, there is no limit to the industry’s potential.

“Obviously we do have barriers up here, he said. “It’s expensive to come up here and we have infrastructure limitations such as number of hotels and beds, but it’s a high potential sector that will continue to grow going forwards, and it creates lot of jobs.

“I don’t see a limitation in the near term, he added. “I think we’ve got a lot of growth ahead of us.