Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program — Product Development and Enhancement

The Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program offers targeted financing to support tourism businesses in the Northwest Territories through business planning, product development, and marketing assistance. The program's financing modalities are structured to encourage growth and innovation within the industry.

• Funding up to $25,000 for business planning and transition assistance, applicable to consulting fees and business plan development.
• Support up to $250,000 for product development and enhancement over one or multiple years, covering a wide range of development costs.
• Marketing assistance funds up to $10,000 per applicant for projects aimed at increasing tourism visibility, such as attending trade shows or developing marketing materials.
• Equity requirement of 15%, which may include sweat equity or capital infrastructure for which no previous contribution has been received.
• Stipulation that recipients of larger grants must wait five years after receipt before reapplying.

This grant has specific eligibility criteria for potential applicants as outlined below.

• The applicant must be a business, economic development agency, or community located in the Northwest Territories (NWT).
• Aboriginal Organizations are eligible to apply.
• Potential ventures focusing on aboriginal culture tourism are encouraged to apply.

Who is eligible?

Who is not eligible

Some types of companies that are not eligible for this grant include:

• Non-NWT Businesses
• Organizations not involved in tourism or culture ventures

Eligible expenses

This grant provides support for NWT tourism businesses aiming to enhance, expand, or market their products to attract new visitors. Eligible projects are centered around business planning, product development, and marketing enhancement efforts.

• Development of business plans to enhance or develop new tourism products.
• Consulting related to tourism operator licensing.
• Development of new products or enhancement of existing tourism offerings.
• Capital acquisitions and start-up costs for tourism products.
• Skills upgrading and amenities enhancement.
• Upgrading services or developing websites for tourism offerings.
• Marketing projects, including trade shows, brochures, and campaigns.

Eligible geographic areas

This program encourages applications from businesses and organizations located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It aims to enhance local tourism products and attract new visitors to the region.

• NWT Businesses.
• Economic development agencies within the Northwest Territories.
• Communities in the Northwest Territories.
• Aboriginal Organizations based in the NWT.

There are evaluation and selection criteria for the Tourism Product Diversification and Marketing Program grant:

• Demonstrated need for funding to re-invent, improve, or expand tourism product and operation.
• The potential of the proposed project to attract new visitors to the NWT and increase revenues for existing tourism businesses.
• Alignment with the goals of product development, enhancement, and marketing in the tourism sector.
• Ability to meet the equity requirement of 15% for each schedule.
• The clarity and feasibility of the proposed business plan, product development, or marketing project.

Here are additional relevant details for this grant:

• It is recommended that potential applicants contact their regional Tourism Development Officer to discuss their project idea before developing a proposal.
• There is an equity requirement of 15%, which can include up to $10,000 in sweat equity or existing capital infrastructure for which no previous funds have been received.
• Recipients of the Product Development and Enhancement funding can only reapply once five years have passed since receiving the contribution.