Fort Smith, N.W.T., travel service aims to be the Expedia of the North

Booking travel in the North isn't always straightforward, but a new travel agency in Fort Smith, N.W.T., hopes to change that and potentially improve medical travel across the territory.

Rashmi Patel and Mildred Martin created Wintergreen Travel two years ago. They had seen a noticeable gap in medical travel management and wanted to help fill it.

Now, they are expanding and want to simplify travel for all Northerners — not just medical travel but also for leisure or work — by developing an online platform they describe as a northern version of Expedia.

Patel and Martin's website will allow travellers to book flights, hotels, and local activities in one place. Martin said that the idea is to improve the travel booking process in the North, particularly in smaller communities.

"So that way, the smaller airline, the smaller accommodation providers in the communities, they would all just be on one platform," Patel said. "And we'd be able to book everything easily, in one click."

Wintergreen Travel is working with a Yellowknife-based developer to create the platform, which they expect to launch later this year. Patel said there has already been strong interest from communities across the North.

Patel and Martin said the platform could also help boost local tourism by making it easier to book unique northern experiences, and could significantly benefit small businesses by increasing their visibility. 

For example, Patel said, it could be a one-stop site for someone who's on duty travel to access information on where to eat, or access a tourist activity. 

"They would spend their per diems in the community and have things to do that they normally wouldn't have done," Patel said. "Instead of going back to their hotel room and watching TV."

Daniel Wiltzen is the economic & tourism development officer for the town of Fort Smith. He agrees that the website could significantly boost tourism in the North by putting local businesses on the site that may not already have a digital presence.

"Putting them on the map is great for their growth. It's great for the community's growth, and it's good for the platform they're trying to build," he said. "It's super exciting for Fort Smith."

Wiltzen believes Wintergreen Travel could also help expand the local tourism season. Currently, summer is the primary tourist season in Fort Smith, with several popular events like the Slave River Paddlefest, the Fireweed Festival, the Dark Sky and the Whooping Crane Festivals. 

A digital platform that highlights all local operators in one place could help open up other seasonal options, Wiltzen said.  

"The Town of Fort Smith is actively engaging tourism as an economic driver, and having a locally-owned and operated business share that mission is incredibly exciting," he said.

Wiltzen said that Wintergreen Travel, a majority Indigenous and female-owned local company, is also an inspiring success story for Fort Smith. 

Making the process smoother for medical travel 

Patel and Martin, both former benefits officers with the N.W.T. government, said they wanted to use their experience as civil servants to try to improve medical travel services in the North.

"I know it's stressful enough dealing with your health," Martin said. "I thought we could help them make the process smoother and less stressful for the clients."

Martin said that many patients face issues such as sudden scheduling changes, trouble finding transportation, and difficulties securing accommodations. They wanted to create a service that would help ease that stress and make the process smoother for those who need it.

The business is already the top-ranking agency for N.W.T. government medical travel, its primary client. Patel said they hope to expand to include all Northern residents, but that will take time.

Martin said another essential aspect of their services is documenting and tracking issues that come up with medical travel and presenting that data to government officials, who can hopefully work to improve the process. 

"There's a lot of inconsistencies. There's a lot of people left by the wayside," Patel said. "[By quantifying the data] we can give them a solution on how to prevent [these issues] as well."