Efforts to boost snowmobile tourism in Northern Manitoba got a big boost July 29 when the federal government announced that it would be providing up to $150,000 to Community Futures North Central Development (CFNCD) for that purpose.
“Through the Canadian Experiences Fund and Economic Development Initiative, our government is investing in the development of our tourism sector and the economic potential of our vibrant communities,” said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, whose portfolio includes Western Economic Diversification Canada, the economic development agency providing the funding.
“It’s excellent news for us,” said Laura Finlay, who has been overseeing CFNCD’s efforts to increase snowmobile and other winter tourism in Northern Manitoba, noting that until now, the budget for those efforts has been about $15,000 over a few years. “We did it with very little money.”
One of the purposes the funding will be put towards is to develop a groomed snowmobile trail between Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake to ensure that snowmobilers can make it from southern Manitoba all the way to Thompson and other northern communities without any gaps. Other initiatives include working with hotels and lodge owners to develop trip packages for snowmobile tourists and hiring a part-time co-ordinator to oversee the Northern Manitoba snowmobile tourism strategy.
“We wanted to have a paid co-ordinator and get a committee going,” said Finlay, adding that the co-ordinator will probably be hired in the fall and will hopefully make life easier for the snowmobile clubs that have done the brunt of the work up until now. “There was always a real passion in the snowmobile community to make this happen.”
Funding will also go towards helping communities organize events designed to attract snowmobilers, which hasn’t been done as much recently as it used to be.
“There’s more interest in doing it now,” Finlay said.
A summit of interested people and organizations was held in Snow Lake last November, with about 40 attendees from as far south as Swan River and as far north as Gillam.
Alan McLauchlan of Travel Manitoba was in Thompson in March to talk about that organization’s new snowmobile tourism strategic plan. He said Travel Manitoba would work on trying to make the Snopasses required to ride on trails maintained by Snoman (the provincial snowmobiling organization) easier to obtain and that communities that hoped to attract snowmobilers needed to make sure that people who interact with visitors in person or with would-be visitors over the phone either have some information about snowmobiling or know where to send people to find it.
“We, as communities, have to be tourism-friendly and have to be snowmobile-tourism friendly,” he said.
Thompson city council approved a resolution in May asking the Association of Manitoba Municipalities to consider lobbying the provincial government to make buying a Snopass a requirement for all snowmobile registrations to help cultivate safer trails and improve northern tourism in general.
Finlay says that the federal and provincial governments have been taking tourism more seriously for the last few years and that Northern Manitoba has memorable experiences to offer.
“Our winters are really spectacular and unique,” she says, and snowmobilers will never be left high and dry like they might be in the province’s south. “We can guarantee that they will have snow up here in the winter season.”
