Case Study: Nanuk Operations

Q: What inspired you to create a new product or enhance your existing one?

A: Nights Under Lights aims to put people in a natural setting with a low environmental footprint. We used low impact technology to create a unique, simple and sustainable way to enjoy nature and culture. The aurora borealis season has the most room for growth of any season in Churchill. We created our Nights Under Lights experience to offer a unique aurora adventure in Churchill, but for Churchill to compete on the world stage, we need to continue to create products that are exciting and draw people to us instead of other destinations.

With help from the Tourism Innovation and Recovery Fund (TIRF) through Travel Manitoba, our Aurora Snowshoe Adventure is the latest product created to get people excited about coming to Churchill. We like to get people out into nature, and get them moving through the environment to really feel connected to the place they are in. With the infrastructure we already had, this was a great way to enhance our existing product with something that adds an exciting adventure aspect to a trip that people would possibly never get to enjoy again.

Q: How did you know when it is time to grow or evolve your tourism experience/product?

A: We’re always looking to grow. The market drives it to a certain degree as growth requires capital and that capital comes from existing products selling to the point you feel comfortable expanding with less risk. I think the answer to this question is different for everyone, but for us, evolving is a constant. We are always doing small things and tackling big growth when it's financially possible. But it's always important to be dreaming of the next thing so you're ready for it when you're able to do it.

Q: Were there any major challenges that you faced in the development process? If yes, what were they and how did you overcome the issue?

A: As a smaller operator, our biggest challenge is always financial. Having help from partners like Travel Manitoba, whether grants or advice, has been a huge benefit to us in our development phase.

Q: Do you have key partners or community connections for this product/expansion. Can you explain?

A: Travel Manitoba was a key connection for this expansion. Without the funding provided through Travel Manitoba, we would not have had the capital to make this expansion happen.

Q: Did you consider economic impacts for your local community in the development process?

A: This year has been our busiest aurora season on record. This new product has become an integral part of our multi-day trips. With more sales in total, our footprint for spending into the local economy has also grown significantly this season. This includes restaurants, hotels and local gifts for guests. It has also put us in a better position to offer more work to locals for a variety of different jobs and contracts.

Q: What did you do to prepare to launch the new or diversified offer? Promotion? Marketing? Staff Training?

A: We had to adjust marketing to include this expansion but thankfully had most of the required materials already to do this relatively easily. We added the product to our website and pushed out marketing for it to social media and also created online ads. We conducted staff training to ensure the product was understood and guides were familiar with it and ready to run the adventures as we had envisioned it. It's important for the guest experience to be consistent, especially when you have repeat clients bringing groups, so ensuring everyone is on the same page with how the product should be presented is important.

Q: Did you measure the success of your new product or diversified product? If so, what did you measure and how did you define success?

A: We are confident saying it’s successful purely from the feedback from guests who have been involved. This new adventure has quickly become a favourite part of our multi-day trips and has had great feedback from guests who have joined as a single evening adventure as well.

Q: Does your business have accessibility, diversity/inclusion or sustainability practices or policies in place? If so, can you describe them?

A: Our entire Nights Under Lights tour lineup is a sustainable ecotourism offering. We operate with solar generators, wood and propane heat. We don't use gasoline generators for lights or heat, keeping the guests' experience as natural as possible (no noise or fumes) and to lower our footprint on the environment around us as much as possible.