Anyone else feel like autumn and winter went by in the blink of an eye? All of a sudden spring is here and our tourists will once again be arriving by the plane-load to play in the snow and go dog sledding and snowmobiling.
In the spirit of cooperating and sharing knowledge, we asked a few operators and stakeholders around the country to share their experiences and insights regarding preparing for the spring season. They did so with pleasure, and they send warm greetings to everyone in the tourism industry.
How does the spring season look at different places in the country?
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Having an attractive, informative and inspirational website and social media account is key to capturing potential guests’ attention for the upcoming season, and incorporating an online booking system makes it even more useful. If everything is in place by springtime for the year, you will give yourself as much time as possible to secure customers. Remember, spring is also the time when the summer tourists are planning their trips, so it’s an investment for the future, too.
Anders Lykke Laursen of Nuuk Water Taxi says website work and booking system updates are one of the largest tasks he and the other Water Taxi franchise owners undertake. He says, “If you do not have an online booking and payment system, get one ASAP. Make it as easy as possible for tourists to find and book a trip – it’s half the battle!”
If you are a small company with few people taking care of many business activities, or if you just have a lot to do, the earlier start the better. With everything from new tours to plan to perhaps finally getting a handle on your TripAdvisor presence, time goes by faster than anyone realises. Many start with preparations already in autumn, or at least before Christmas Holiday.
The Hotel Seamen’s Home in Sisimiut, for example, begins making agreements with local dog sled mushers in November.
Even if you do not have especially many guests in the spring, these are still highly valuable months to use for the benefit of your company.
Even if you do not have especially many guests in the spring, these are still highly valuable months to use for the benefit of your company. Inga Gisladottir, employee at Blue Ice Explorer, says they work all through the winter with marketing and setting agreements for the next summer.
In spring, they do the more practical tasks of getting their boats and hostels guest-ready for summer. Her greatest advice is about being prepared when the season does open: “Be ready in good time with all materials and equipment. Order or update inventory long in advance so all products and tours are ready when the tourists are.”
There are many operators who see benefits to the spring season, despite it being generally the secondary season to summer numbers-wise. Anders Lykke Laursen likes the peacefulness of being in Nuuk Fjord at a time when few other boats are out. He also thinks the snowy coastline makes for gorgeous scenery, especially when it is mirrored in calm water.
Erik Hansen from The Hotel Seamen’s Home in Sisimiut thinks spring is most fantastic because the northern lights can still be seen at night while during the day, there is plenty of sunlight.
How does the spring season look at different places in the country?
For some operators, like Nuuk Water Taxi in the sea ice-free Capital Region, the spring season starts quite early, albeit slow and steady, already in February with charter winter sailing in a closed boat. It is later in April that they set their open boat to water to really boost the pace of the spring season.
Further north at the entrance of sled dog territory, The Hotel Seamen’s Home in Sisimiut experiences the spring tourist boom in March and April. Their rooms are full of tourists, and during the day, their guests are wild with the dog sledding tours arranged by the hotel. They also have the opportunity to ride snowmobiles and to some extent, rent skis.
In South Greenland, the region continues to be quiet in spring. Local operators like the more than two-decades-old Blue Ice Explorer welcome travellers first in late spring / early summer, and around late May.