Co-creating the North’s First Community-led Tourism Strategy

Government of Nunavut

Destination: Nunavut, Canada
Engagement: 2019


The government of Nunavut’s Tourism and Cultural Industries Division and Department of Economic Development and Transportation via the territorial DMO, Destination Nunavut sought an innovative, community-based three-year strategy focused on tourism operator training, product and experience development, digital marketing, and methods to enhance the visitor experience.

Twenty31 was selected along with our strategic partner Alphabet Creative to engage stakeholders from the cultural, tourism, and business communities, assess supply and demand challenges and opportunities and support the development of the community-led tourism strategy.

Issue prioritization


We administered a multi-lingual survey to tourism industry operators, artists, community leaders, and elders to obtain a clearer understanding of Nunavut’s tourism opportunities and challenges.

Stakeholder engagement & opportunity analysis


In addition to in-depth government, industry, and community stakeholder interviews across Nunavut, we conducted ethnographic discussion sessions with local cultural ambassadors and Indigenous influencers to document and understand their roles within the tourism industry.

Situational assessment and trends analysis


Our team conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Spirit of the Arctic report and other earlier strategies (including Tunngasaiji: A Tourism Strategy for Nunavummiut) to assess tourism development accomplishments to date.

The Integrated Destination Strategy created by Twenty31 was approved by the City and fully adopted by Tourism Kingston. The dynamic strategy was used to guide all decisions related to tourism investment, development, visitor management, stakeholder engagement, and marketing. It has improved seasonal visitation and boosted tourism’s overall contributions to the economy. Based on the impact of the Integrated Destination Strategy, Tourism Kingston retained Twenty31 for the following three-year integrated destination strategy co-created in 2022.