Tourism (Arctic)

Prime Contractor
Noetix (Canada)

Contact
Tom Hirose - tom.hirose@noetix.on.ca

Partners
KSAT (Norway), PolarImaging (UK)

Users
CruiseNorth Expeditions (Canada), Arctic Kingdom Cruise Expeditions Inc (Canada), Polar Adventures, Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO), Students on Ice, Parks Canada

Main Aims / Objectives
Assess the value of EO for information arctic environmental conditions for tour operators.

Main Services

The types of information required are : location of ice hazards along transit (for ships), location of floe edge at the time of reaching destination, direction of pack-ice motion, and the type of ice conditions that exist (certain marine species prefer specific ice characteristics).

Tour operators require information to plan their trip (routing and destination) and up-to-date tactical information that is accurate during their expedition.

Regulators want to know where the visitors are stopping and if they are landing on protected areas.

The prospects for these services are being assessed with a large cross-section of the tourist industry, including : the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO – the trade organisation), Arctic Kingdom (an adventure tourism company), Students on Ice (a cruise ship touring company), Pangaggujjiniq Nunavut Quest (a provincial non-for-profit dog sled organization), Parks Canada (national park regulator), Cruise North (cruise ship touring company), and Polar Adventures (supports and runs adventure travel in the polar regions).