Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

How to Become a Travel Agent in 24 Hours
The travel industry has been going through some significant changes over the last few years. Mom and Pop travel agencies are quickly being replaced by online booking engines like Orbitz or Travelocity. But there is one problem: 80% of all...

How to Ease Travel Sickness this Summer
Travel sickness, whether brought on when travelling by air, sea or car is a nightmare. If you are unprepared then the resulting mess and smell can affect other people, spreading almost like a virulent virus. On a plane or in the car the smell can...

Royal Caribbean - excellent way to travel
Royal Caribbean is a cruse line that offers you many different travel choices, destinations and activities to make your vacation perfect. Whether you would like to travel with your family, take a slow and relaxing vacation, participate in...

Save Money On Travel Reservations
Cheap Reservations without the Hassle - Plan your vacations on off seasons, Hotel rates, even airline and car rental rates are lower during this time due to lower demand. You can get as much as a 50% discount if you book a room during off...

Successfull travel is not just cheap plane tickets
Planning ahead when traveling can save you so much time. Simple things such as trying to find cheap plane tickets is obvious, but researching your selected place of travel is the most important thing you can do to ensure a fantastic holiday or...

 
Traveling to the Canadian Arctic and Native Inuit Communities

There have been more travelers going to the Canadian Arctic region in recent years for both business and tourism. Adventure tourism companies are beginning to promote the Arctic as a unique destination to experience the natural beauty and wildlife of the north as well as the culture of the native Inuit who live there. As a result of the creation of the Nunavut territory and government, the capital city of Iqaluit has been growing as Inuit from smaller Arctic communities migrate to the city for more job opportunities. This growth has created the increase of business travelers to the Arctic.

Getting to the Arctic has always been a problem for travelers since there are no roads that go up there from southern Canadian cities. The Arctic communities are very isolated from the rest of Canada as well as from each other. Flying in has been the only option although many coastal Arctic areas are serviced by cargo boat during the summers as well. For the average traveler, the air option is the only way to go. Although travel to the Canadian Arctic has increased, the number of travelers going up north is very small compared to number of travelers between southern Canadian cities. As a result, the major Canadian carrier Air Canada and certainly none of the US carriers service the Arctic. The only commercial airlines which service the Arctic (Nunavut and Northwest Territories) for the average traveler are First Air and Canadian North. A smaller airline called Air Inuit services the native Inuit communities in Nunavik (Arctic Quebec).


First Air and Canadian North both fly out of Ottawa. First Air also flies out of Montreal while Canadian North also has flights departing from Edmonton and Calgary. These Canadian North flights will stop in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories before continuing to Nunavut. So travelers will have to get to one of these Canadian cities from their points of origin in order to connect with an Arctic carrier. Getting to a smaller Arctic community such as Cape Dorset will involve an additional connection in Iqaluit.

The number of all flights to the Arctic is predictably few in comparison to other domestic flights in Canada. Therefore, Arctic flights are always expensive no matter which travel day of the week. Staying for a Saturday night will not result in cheaper airfares either. The high cost of flights has always been the major obstacle for Arctic travel and will likely not change in the near future. The growth of Arctic tourism will still be limited because of the expensive travel involved. However, if one is willing to pay for it, a trip to the Canadian Arctic is one that will certainly be memorable and satisfying.
About the Author

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca) , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.