NWT Tourism Conference 2020 Postponed

Dear valued members,

Although I know this will not come as a surprise to you, I am sorry to announce that the NWT Tourism Conference, scheduled to be held in Hay River in November 2020, will be postponed until November 2021. As we looked at the Emerging Wisely plan, it became very clear that there is no provision in the plan to allow indoor gatherings of up to 200 people to proceed in the foreseeable future. We also are concerned that with so many tourism businesses unable to generate revenue with borders closed, that we won't be able to obtain the sponsorships we have enjoyed that make our conference possible. We appreciate that this is disappointing to all of you, and particularly to our partners in Hay River who put together an excellent proposal and hosted some of us for a site visit in early March. How the world has changed since then! Our plan is work with the Town in 2021 to work out dates and details for our event and we have communicated to the Town of Hay River our commitment to coming back in 2021.

We will still hold an Annual General Meeting in the first week of November, but this will be done via video conferenceing technology.  Voting for the NWT Tourism Board of Directors will go ahead as usual, because our voting is done electronically and our member participation in the voting process is well established. We will begin sharing the voting timeline and information in July. If you are a new member and are unfamiliar with our electronic voting process, you don't need to worry. We have step-by-step communications that will walk you through the nomination and voting process, and our staff are always availble to assist and answer any questions you may have.

The Board of Directors is currently thinking about some way that the industry can get together either in the fall or early in the new year - likely on a technology such as zoom. We would welcome any ideas you may have about how we can make a virtual connection exciting for you, and we will keep you posted on all plans as we move forward. 

Together we will emerge from this pandemic, and we will be stronger and more resilient than ever. 

Take care.  Stay safe.   

Cathie Bolstad
Chief Executive Officer
Northwest Territories Tourism