Pond Inlet Residents - Have Your Say!

Some of you might remember that I have been visiting Pond Inlet for the last two years. I am working on an independent research project, for my PhD in Geography at the University of Calgary, looking at resident attitudes to tourism here, as well as Churchill and Cambridge Bay.The reason for setting up this weblog is to give as many people as possible a chance to comment on my findings. I'll be in town from the 27th August – 1st September 2007, so I hope to talk to as many people as possible, but obviously I cannot speak to everyone, so this is your chance to look at the results, and to have your say!

I have posted below some of my selected findings. If you'd like to make a comment, to agree or disagree, simply add your thoughts by clicking on the 'comments' button at the end of each posting. If you prefer that your postings are anonymous simply select that option. If you'd like to contact me privately, please email me at ejstewar@ucalgary.ca. I'd also be keen to hear how you think this information can be best used in the community so that tourism in Pond Inlet continues to flourish. So send me your ideas! I welcome comments from visitors too, but please indicate that you are a tourist in the comment box. Thank you very much for your time and for contributing to the project!

The Good Things about Tourism

When I asked residents (71 of you) to tell me about the positive effects of tourism in Pond Inlet, the following things were mentioned (and I have grouped them under economic, social, cultural and environmental categories):

i) Economic Benefits

* Tourism generates income for the community (19 people said that).
* Tourism is beneficial to local carvers and tourism is helping rekindle the craft industry (7 people said that)
* Tourism creates good jobs for local people (4 people identified that) and an additional 7 people noted that tourism creates job opportunities for local guides.
* Tourism provides a good source of supplementary income (5 people recognized that).
* Tourists buy produce and products from Pond Inlet (5 people thought that) and another 3 people said specifically that tourists buy local carvings.
* Tourism helps young people get out on the land to hunt (4 residents said that) and an additional 3 people noted that tourism allows residents to own hunting and camping equipment.
* Other people said sports hunters bring in big dollars to the community (1 person), pay for the guide’s gas and food (1 person) and sometimes sports hunters will send out care packages at Christmas time (1 person). Other comments included: tourism provides good opportunities for people with boats, dog teams and/or skidoos (1 person) and tourism helps local people develop new skills (1 person). One person suggested that Pond Inlet had “done very well from tourism without doing much as a community”. Another resident said that the money generated from tourism is re-spent in the local shops. And finally one person thought that tourism has the potential to add a lot more money to the Pond Inlet economy.

ii) Social Benefits

* Tourism is a good way to meet new people (11 people said that) and tourism is fun, exciting and its enjoyable to take part in activities alongside the tourists (7 people felt that).
* Tourism gives the community recognition as a good place to visit (6 people thought that) and that this ‘recognition’ makes residents feel proud (1 person) and particularly proud of local guides (1 person).
* Tourism facilitates communication between Inuit and Qallunaat (white people) (6 people identified that). Communication is enhanced when tourists and locals interact (6 people said they had experienced that) and friendships can develop between residents and tourists (4 people recognized that).
* Tourism is an opportunity to educate visitors and to dispel myths about living in the north (8 residents noted that) as well as tourism being a vehicle to showcase Inuit culture and land (6 people thought that).
* Other people noted that: it is good to see tourists enjoying themselves (2 people); it is good for local people to see the cruise ships (1 person); that some tourism jobs allow families to work together (1 person) and that the visitor centre also is used by the community (1 person).

iii) Cultural Benefits:

* Sports hunters leave some of the meat from their hunts with local people (3 people said that).
* Tourism gives local people an opportunity to participate in cultural demonstrations (4 people thought that).
* Tourism provides lots of opportunities for young Inuit people (1 person).
* The cultural shows interpret the “traditions of our ancestors and keep these traditions alive” (1 person).
* Local people talk more about ‘IQ’ (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit - Inuit way of interpreting the world) because tourists ask questions (1 person).

iv) Environmental Benefits

Only 4 people mentioned environmental benefits arising from tourism, and these included: the Hamlet is cleaned up because of tourism; Pond Inlet is a pleasant place to be and “so long as tourism doesn’t affect our land its okay to have tourists here”; and tourism gives us an opportunity to spend time out on the land.
HAVE YOUR SAY.....! So most people talked about the economic and socio-cultural advantages that tourism brings to Pond Inlet, do you agree with this? Would you add other advantages to this list? If you'd like to make a comment (even if its, yes I agree with what has already been said) please click on the comments button below.

The Not-So-Good Things about Tourism

On the negative side, of the 71 residents I spoke to, 52 per cent of them didn't think there were any bad things about tourism in Pond Inlet. Of the remaining people, their comments were:

i) Economic Concerns

Individuals mentioned that tourism only provides seasonal work which is not well paid, and that tourism benefits only a few people and organizations in the community (and that this may lead to jealously). As one person put it “tourism feeds some carvers but not everyone”. That costs go up in the tourist season, that local services aren’t ulitized by tourists and that “tourists don’t spend much but only take things” were economic concerns raised by other residents.

ii) Social Concerns

* Two people mentioned that guiding obligations conflicted with their own family time on the land, and one other person said that Pond Inlet gets at least one ‘surprise’ cruise ship a year, which is disruptive.
* Tourism was thought by 2 people to “turn our kids into beggars” and similarly, two residents said that the behaviour of children around tourists was “embarrassing”.
* One person noticed that the line-ups in the store are longer when tourists are in town, but it was added that this is only a minor inconvenience.

iii) Cultural Concerns

* Two residents observed that tourists were “suspicious of us” and “they don’t trust us”.
* Two people thought tourists were “sometimes snobby or asked dumb questions”.
* Other individuals noted that:
- They had concerns because traditions were used as “show-time” for tourists;
- Tourists don’t always ask permission before they take photographs (and one person was upset because tourists don’t ask before taking pictures of children in amauti – Inuit baby carrier);
- Tourists are not culturally aware;
- Tourists misunderstand Inuit hunting culture;
- Tourism will bring cultural change;
- Some tourists don’t seem very interested in Inuit life and have no sense of what it is really like to live in the north;
- Communication can be a problem with some outfitters and tourists;
- And some tourists “stand in judgement of Inuit people”.

iv) Environmental Concerns

Only 7 people mentioned environmental concerns arising from tourism, and these included: two residents noted that they didn’t like tourists seeing the Hamlet when it “was messy” or when tourists took photographs of “the mess”; two people said tourists leave garbage and pollute the land; one person thought tourists “take things from the land”; one person said tourists “trample on archaeological sites” and; one person thought tourists “might bring diseases from the south”.

HAVE YOUR SAY......! Again, please add a comment, if you have anything to add, or simply whether you agree with these results.

Overall Attitude to Tourism in Pond Inlet

When I asked residents to indicate on a scale their overall attitude to tourism in Pond Inlet, 55% said they were supportive, 25% said they were somewhat supportive, 14% said they were neutral in their opinion, and 4% said they were either unsupportive or somewhat unsupportive of tourism (2% of residents did not answer the question). Are you surprised by these results? If you have comments on these or other aspects of these findings, please leave your comments by clicking on the button below.

Mapping Exercise: Current Tourism Activities

When I interviewed residents of Pond Inlet I asked them to look at this satellite image of the area, and to tell me places where current tourism activities are appropriate and places where tourism activities aren't appropriate. I then asked them to repeat this exercise for future tourism activities. Here's the same satellite image with comments and annotations (to make the image larger simply click on the satellite image). What do you think? Do you agree with these results?