TSIIGEHTCHIC (June 26, 2015) – Residents and visitors celebrated the grand opening of the Tsiigehtchic Tourist Centre at an event hosted by the community and the newly formed Tsiigehtchic Tourism Society.
The Centre will be open from late June to early September and features a shower and kitchen facility to accommodate paddlers on the Mackenzie and Arctic Red Rivers.
“The Tsiigehtchic Tourist Centre is an excellent example of a community-led tourism initiative,” said David Ramsay, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI). “The Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk Highway provides an opportunity to increase tourism in the Beaufort Delta region, and Tsiigehtchic will be well positioned to welcome visitors. Congratulations to the community and the Tsiigehtchic Tourism Society for their foresight and hard work.”
During the event, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute exhibited a replica of the 13,650-year-old steppe bison skull found in Tsiigehtchic in 2007.
Since 2012, ITI has provided $153,000 to establish the Tsiigehtchic Tourist Centre. Supporting new ventures in communities across the NWT is one of the GNWT’s Tourism 2015 Plan’s objectives, distributing benefits as widely as possible to diversify the economy and build a strong and sustainable future for the Northwest Territories, priorities of the 17th Legislative Assembly.
Media inquiries:
Megan Holsapple
Senior Communications Officer
Industry, Tourism and Investment
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: (867) 873-7340
Email: megan_holsapple@gov.nt.ca