As part of its effort to build tourism from a $1.6 billion business in the province now to a $2.2 billion industry by 2023, Travel Manitoba hosted the North MB Showcase during the Manitoba Outdoors Show in Winnipeg Feb. 7-9 to highlight northern tourism operations.
Brett Baynton, owner of Bakers Narrows fishing lodge near Flin Flon, said the provincial government’s Look North economic development initiative, which includes increasing northern tourism as one way to achieve regional prosperity, has inspired him to expand his business.
“It definitely was Travel Manitoba that spurred us on to pursue the winter market for our business,” Baynton said. “We’ve been doing this now for 18 or 19 years. Summers have been busy, winters not specific to tourism. So they really encouraged us to do this, and that was the beginning of last winter. So we got on board and gave it a good push, and invested into the market, and we’ve seen an incredible response from the consumer.”
Baynton also began began trolling for customers online.
“Everything from social media to online marketing,” he said. “Manitoba Tourism has some initiatives that we took advantage of, and we even increased our tradeshows specific to winter-type consumers. You throw a bunch of mud at the wall and you see what sticks.”
Bakers Narrows Lodge attracts clients from all over Canada and the United States, including North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“I would say the majority of our customers come from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and we are even drawing people from Vancouver and Toronto, and those areas as well,” Baynton says. “I am amazed at how far people are travelling to come up to Northern Manitoba. Every day surprises me.”
Bakers Narrows Lodge is only a few kilometres outside Flin Flon, not far from the airport
“We’ve got good clean pavement right to our lodge,” says Baynton. “That combination makes transportation here just excellent. The accessibility is very appealing.”
Calm Air CEO Gary Bell, chair of the Northern Tourism Advisory Committee, said that Travel Manitoba’s work has made a significant difference to northern businesses.
“Their commitment to ensuring tour operators are well positioned to compete internationally is unrivalled,” said Bell. “Their work with community stakeholders is enormous.”
