Regional
suggests

18 Terrace Review: —— Wednesday, December 18, 1991

board ©
up- ‘valley.

alternate airports

Almost everyone in the Terrace
area has experienced the thrill of
a missed approach at the Ter-
race-Kitimat Airport. The roar of
the engines fade to a whistle of
air, but after the lengthy down-
ward glide the engines roar back
to life just at the moment the
wheels seem about to touch the
ground,

After that the aircraft’s desti-
nation is anyone’s guess: it
could be Smithers or Prince
Rupert, or if they’re closed
Sandspit or Prince George, or
perhaps even. Vancouver.

It doesn’t have to be like this,
says Alice Maitland, Hazelton
director for the Regional District
of Kitimat-Stikine. In Hazelton,
the sun almost always shines,
she told the regional board in
October, even on those numer-
ous occasions when the weather
in Terrace, and sometimes
Smithers. too, makes a landing a
risky affair that most pilots will
choose to abandon.

Hazelton doesn’t have a "real"
airport; just an airstrip. Maitland
suggests the Ministry of Trans-
port should consider an upgrade
on that strip to improve overall
air service to the Northwest.

Regional board director Pete
Weeber, also from Hazelton,
offers another alternative: Kit-
wanga. There are three airstrips
there, he says. But his descrip-
tion of these airstrips leaves the
possibilities of further develop-
ment open to question.

All three airstrips are private
and located in farmers’ fields.

The first he doesn’t recommend —

at all. "The field is 10 percent
cow flaps," he explains, a situ-
ation he suggests would require
the pilot to instruct the co-pilot

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to remove the flaps from the
windshield after each take-off
and landing.

The second isn’t much better.
The only difference is that there
are horse flaps instead of cow
flaps, he says. But the third, he
continues, docs have some possi-
"It’s not bad," says
Weeber. "There are no animals
at all."

Maitland down-played
Weeber’s suggestion, however.
"Hazelton is.a good alternative
to Smithers," she said ignoring
Weeber. "There have been days
when you could have got into
Hazelton when you couldn’t get
into Smithers." She even notes a
time in history when Smithers
was closed for two consecutive
days.

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Tour and travel exchange
means business

North by Northwest attends
several trade shows each year

éy

which focus specifically on the

group travel market, “Christie”
recently attended the National
Tour Association (N.T.A.) Fall
Exchange in Cleveland.

N.T.A. is the leading group
travel industry association in
North America. The association’s
membership includes tour opera-
tors who package and sell group
tours to the United States, Canada
and Mexico; tour suppliers, restau-
rants, motorcoach companies,
hotels, airlines and attractions;

destination marketing organiza-.

tions (DMO’s), which include
state, provincial, convention and

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visitors’ bureaus and the category
which North by Northwest falls
within.

The Fall Exchange recently
attended is one of the largest travel
industry gatherings held in North
America and offered the opportu-
nity to conduct intensive business
sessions. There were 3,100 dele-
gates in attendance, approximately
1,000 tour operators, the remain-
der DMO's and tour suppliers.

The Tour and Travel Exchange

is the industry prototype for com-"

puterized appointment scheduling.
In the exchange, tour operators
(buyers) meet with tour suppliers
and DMO’s (sellers) to conduct
business, Scheduling for these
appointments is done first through
pre-registration and again on-site
at the exchange. A sophisticated
computer program matches opera-
tor and supplier requests.

“Christie” made contact with
48 tour operators during the con-
vention. The operators she met
with presently have North by
Northwest on their itineraries and
are looking for new itinerary
ideas, or are in the planning stage
and need assistance with their
itineraries,

Complementing the business

_ sessions during the exchange, the

continuing education of NTA
members is an important focus of
the convention. The education
committee of NTA develops an
extensive series of professional
development seminars to ensure
those working in the industry keep
informed of the group travel mar-
ket.

As an example of the economic
impact of group travel, one opera-
tor has initiated 31 departures
from Vancouver for 1992. This
particular operator is spending

four nights in the North by North-

west region on their itinerary from
Vancouver/Prince George/Prince
Rupert/Inside Passage returning to -
Vancouver. The economic impact
of a motorcoach tour is $3,500 per
day. Calculating this industry
norm, times 31 departures, times
four nights in the region, the dollar
value to the North by Northwest
region is $434,000 from one tour
operator alone.

The minor investment spent by
North by Northwest to be a dele-
gate at trade industry events and
represent the regional tourism
industry is paid for many times
over and ensures the healthy
future growth of the group travel
industry.

IMPROVING

YOUR ODDS

AGAINST
wat |  GANADA'S
rounoarionor) #4 KILLER.

acknowledgement card.

A thoughtful way to remember is with an In
Memoriam gift to the Heart and Stroke Founda-
tion of B.C. and Yukon. Please mail your donation
to the above address and include the name of the
deceased, your name and address, as well as the
name and address of the next-of-kin for an.

Maggie Park
#209-4526 Park Ave.,
Terrace, B.C.

V8G 1V1

638-1167