Mr. Chair, I'm not a tourism expert, but I will do my best to give you an intelligent answer.
I believe that the Olympics did a lot to help make the north known. We know that Canada's Northern House, which was on site in Vancouver, was a major success. It introduced people to the north and the beauties of the high north. The Canada Winter Games also have a major impact and have helped attract tourists. I believe people are starting to discover the three territories: Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
There has been some increase in tourism, and we increasingly want to help the communities, both the francophone communities and the majority anglophone communities. That is why, last year, we awarded grants for tourism in the three territories, $3.5 million of which went to majority anglophone communities as part of a pan-territorial strategy. We did the same thing on the francophone side as part of a pan-territorial campaign as well. The two campaigns are aligned and the two partners are working together to learn from one another, to link their websites and to ensure their initiatives and strategies are well aligned.
This is having the effect of making the high north increasingly known, not only in Canada, but outside the country as well. With regard to the francophone communities, there are some initiatives to attract both francophone tourists from Quebec, among other places, and European tourists. We also know that many Germans visit Yukon. Now there are direct flights from Frankfurt, Germany, to Yukon. So we are seeing that people are increasingly attracted by the beauties of the north. In our view, this is an opportunity for increasing investment to give these communities the means to offer attractive products to Canadian and foreign tourists.