The Far North: adventure in the great white!

"The only thing you can be sure of not succeeding in is the thing you don't try", Paul-Emile Victor. The North in winter leaves its mark on people's minds, brings groups together and strengthens a company's image. To awaken the adventurous spirit in all of us, the countries of Northern Europe and Iceland are a good place to start. "While the activities on offer there are fairly traditional - snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog sledding, overnight stays in igloos and ice hotels, the Northern Lights... - the setting is a complete change of scenery," explains Dominique Albouy, Product Manager at Grand Nord/ Grand Large. Small groups of around fifteen people sleep in atypical but comfortable gîtes, such as this former school set in the middle of the Finnish wilderness. "The owner is a former cross-country skier and a colourful professional. He takes participants to discover the region through outdoor activities", explains Dominique Albouy. Coastal Express cruises with bathing among the icebergs and expeditions led by the Saami, the oldest minority in the Nordic countries, are also available. There are also introductory days to trapper life: ice fishing, discovering the art of smoking fish, learning polar survival techniques... Above all, these countries are "a good alternative to more distant destinations with time differences, such as Canada. As a bonus, air travel is shorter and therefore less expensive", points out Nathalie Belloir, head of the incentive department at the Voyageurs du Monde group (Comptoirs des Voyages, Terres d'aventures and Nomade). This explains the share of the incentive market in Finland.

Concentrated mainly in Lapland, stays in the Far North account for between 25 and 30 % of the Finnish tourism market over the year as a whole. "With peaks in winter of around 30 to 35 %", says Pierre Gérard, Marketing Director at the Finnish National Tourist Board. "The French market is estimated to account for around 30 % of the overall incentive market. Compared with other European countries, it is the one that has grown the most over the last ten years", he adds.

The reasons for this popularity: the proximity of the destination, the frequency of charter flights, the professionalism of the local service providers, the originality of the activities and the quality of the services. "Finland's 100 % nature, 100 % emotions, 100 % activities are increasingly appealing to companies looking for short, original and simple programmes, all in a Zen atmosphere", explains Pierre Gérard. This breath of fresh air in the Far North is also the card Sweden is playing to attract French groups.

This is confirmed by Pierre Tolcini, Marketing Director for France at the Swedish Tourist Board. "More than 50 % of French tourism is business tourism! Swedish Lapland has some products that are unique in the world, such as the Icehotel located just a few minutes from Kiruna airport. This ice hotel, which comes to life for one winter only to be reborn the following season, has 80 rooms, including around thirty suites. But above all, this region is not overrun by mass tourism, which is why specialist agencies love it. In addition to the well-known activities such as snowmobiling, dog sledding, ice driving and ice-breaking excursions, incentive groups can combine their stay in Swedish Lapland with extensions to Norway and photo safaris focusing on killer whales.

But the total change of scenery, away from all known landmarks, is something that the groups are looking for much further afield. Where, as adventurer Nicolas Vannier describes it, "we are nowhere, at least in a place that resembles nothing known to man. Ice and snow as far as the eye can see, and the only relief the wind has carved into this uniform whiteness". This incredible place is the impressive Rocky Mountains that stretch from Canada to the United States. The same mountains that served as the backdrop for his film 'The Last Trapper', a superb love story between man and nature. And it's precisely this symbiosis that Mathieu Breton, DHD Laïka's forfaitiste salesman, proposes to bring to life for groups. "In the Yukon, Canada, with Rock Boivin, a friend of Nicolas Vannier, we organise real dogsled raids with overnight stays in chalets, log cabins or trapper tents. The same principle applies in Quebec. From December to April, from the Écorces camp in the Peribonka massif north of Lac Saint-Jean, groups of up to twelve people, lulled by the tales of Jack London, set off on an expedition with Nicolas Vannier's own dogs. The lucky ones may even cross paths with him!

The only major difference between these two destinations is the price of the plane ticket, which varies from 700 euros for Quebec to 1000 euros for the Yukon! On the other hand, as Mathieu Breton points out: "At 2,000 euros per person for a nine-day operation, we're still really competitive with the Scandinavian countries. What's more, it's a real adventure! The areas we cross are completely untouched by man, and the dog-sledding activity is really carried out with one musher (sled driver) for every four people, each of whom is responsible for his or her own team of between five and eight dogs". And it works! "The business tourism incentive represents 14 % of the tourism market," says Danielle Cordisco, Director of the Canadian Tourist Office. "Of the 357,000 French visitors we receive, 12.7 % come from business tourism. This relatively stable market is mainly oriented towards Quebec as an incentive, because of the direct flights serving Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City", observes Danielle Cordisco, who intends to tour specialist French agencies in the near future to raise awareness of the other Canadian territories. "The Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Manitoba are completely different places, out of the ordinary and providing very strong memories", says Danielle Cordisco.

A sense of adventure

Still little-known, sometimes difficult to access and not necessarily with accommodation suited to this category of clientele, these unusual destinations remain exceptional rewards. Book well in advance, preferably for small, privileged groups. "The image of the Antarctic and Arctic lands is deeply rooted in our imagination. They are part of the mythology of travel," says Jean-Marie Douau, Production Director at Jetset. They are real journeys, often impossible to make on your own, with the added bonus of a sense of adventure". Boosted by high-profile expeditions, Nicolas Vannier's films and the documentary "March of the Emperor", and above all by the "nature" trend that is taking hold every year, these cold territories are attracting growing interest: visitors are flocking to these lands threatened with extinction by global warming!

Groups can experience the great outdoors. And they are thrilled to discover the wildlife. Observing polar bears, seals, penguins and whales is particularly popular. Holding a baby seal in your arms, or seeing 300 polar bears at close quarters in Churchill, waiting for the pack ice to form before setting off on their hunt, are sure to leave you with unforgettable memories! Polar bears are only found in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic," explains Dominique Albouy. Several combinations are offered around these expeditions. For example, Grand Nord- Grand Large charters a plane from Spitsbergen to a Russian drifting base and then boards helicopters for a drop-off on the mythical roof of the world: the North Pole! In Greenland and Nunavut, expeditions led by Inuits take small groups to discover their customs. On the programme: ice fishing demonstrations, igloo building, animal track recognition, discovery of Inuit art, etc. Experienced skiers eager for a thrill can be taken by helicopter to the top of the glaciers for an extreme ski descent! Then, right next to the Arctic Circle, incentive participants can also enjoy experiences similar to those in the polar regions. Cape Horn, Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia in Argentina are just a few examples. "From Ushuaïa, the groups - 25 people maximum - go on a trek to discover the people and wildlife of the Antarctic: sea lions, marine elephants, orcas, etc.," explains Laurent Gillard, Key Account and Group Sales Director at Tourisport Company (Club Aventure and Sport Away). "Generally speaking, the reason given for choosing this type of expedition is the desire to make a complete break with everyday life... It's the same objective that we find for treks in the desert."

In the footsteps of the explorers

Then there's the cruise alternative: Jetset, for example, takes groups on a catamaran trip right through the middle of the glaciers. Participants can also board scientific boats, icebreakers or even old sailing ships for themed cruises such as "in the footsteps of explorers" like Charcot, or to meet animal species. For example, Compagnie des îles du Ponant is organising two cruises: one "in the footsteps of the British explorer Ernest Shackleton", the second "to Antarctica, the land of extremes".

The principle, as with Grand Nord/Grand Large, is to have the groups led by a team of naturalist lecturers. Sailing alternates with stopovers ashore two or three times a day to discover the inhabitants, both human and animal, of these strange places. "An operation of this kind in the Arctic costs between €6,000 and €8,000 per person, including flights", says Dominique Albouy, who concludes: "But however you approach these cold destinations, finding yourself in completely different regions, losing sight of everyday life and urbanity, discovering grandiose landscapes, observing extraordinary fauna and meeting exceptional people with, what's more, a mind-boggling play of light and colour... it really is an adventure to be experienced at least once in your life!"