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German tourists heed call of the wild
the National Post, September 14, 2002
Photo: Sarah Efron
When Germans are driving to work on a packed autobahn or crammed into underground U-Bahn cars, many of them are probably fantasizing about getting away from civilization and heading to the backwoods of Canada's Far North.
"A trip to Canada is considered the fulfilment of a childhood dream for many Germans," says Christoph Gneiser, a German-born professor at the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Germans grew up reading romanticized tales about the pure, undisturbed Canadian wilderness and the noble Indians and heroic cowboys who live there, and they want the chance to experience it for themselves.
"Canada is certainly considered one of the prime holiday destinations," he adds.
Many of the 400,000 German visitors who come to Canada each year head straight for the North. They are especially visible in the Yukon, where they swarm along the Yukon River, equipped with the latest in outdoor clothing and camping equipment. They do not even have to waste time going through Montreal or Toronto — Condor, the budget airline arm of Lufthansa, the German national airline, runs flights direct from Frankfurt to Whitehorse in summer. According to Yukon Tourism, 10,890 Germans visited the territory in the summer of 1999, spending $7.4-million — a conservative estimate given many participated in pre-paid package tours that are not included in the figures.
The vast open spaces of the Canadian forests and tundra are appealing to people living in Germany — a country with 80 million people in a space one-third the size of Ontario.
Germany is heavily industrialized and has little green space, so residents like to get some breathing space by travelling to other countries, a habit facilitated by Germany's generous labour laws.
"You're pretty well guaranteed hefty portions of vacation time under German labour laws," says Sybille Forster-Rentmeister, editor of the German Canadian newspaper Echo Germanica.
"After 20 years, you're probably entitled to six weeks off, and Germans travel for a lot of it. Throughout the year, they take a week here and a week there to reduce stress, and I guess that's why they can bear having lives which are actually quite stressful."
The infatuation with the Canadian wilderness has a long tradition in Germany, beginning with the 19th-century romanticists Friedrich Gerstacker and Baron Von Mollenhausen, who believed the wilderness provided a beneficial challenge to the human spirit.
At the end of the 19th century, Karl May wrote numerous books about his imaginary adventures on the North American frontier, despite the fact that he never left Germany. The Klondike gold rush tales of American author Jack London are also popular in Germany.
"The books of Karl May and Jack London are a must read for most teenage boys in Germany," says Mr. Gneiser. "To this day, they're traded in the same way that Canadian boys trade hockey cards."
Many Canadian lodge operators are happy to fulfill the storybook fantasies. Sebastian Schnuelle, the German-born owner of Blue Kennels and Dog Sled Trips, of Whitehorse, says 80% of his customers are German or German-speakers from Austria or Switzerland.
"A lot of books were written which entice people to come here, and we have to deliver what they read," says Mr. Schnuelle.
"This is what the Germans dream about — wide-open spaces, a river to paddle down, mountain-biking trips. It fits their idea of northern life."
Mr. Schnuelle has two lodges — one has a telephone and electricity and the other has no modern conveniences. He says Germans tend to prefer the more rustic setting.
"We live about 400 metres away from a power line, but we still don't have power. People ask me why we don't, and I say, that's what I'm selling — the northern experience. People don't want to turn on a light switch — they want to sit around an open fire."
Germans are regular customers at northern hunting lodges and heli-skiing operations, and they almost single-handedly support Whitehorse's half-dozen RV rental outlets.
"Most of the Germans rent RVs and travel around Alaska and the Yukon," says Shirley Budzinski, owner of Whitehorse's Klondike Recreational Rentals.
"They like the outdoors and the freedom of travelling without an itinerary. One of my clients told me he went for two days and didn't see any people. That was the highlight of his trip. For him, that even beat seeing Mount McKinley."
Many Germans are fascinated with North American "cowboys and Indians" mythology and are eager to experience native sweat lodges and powwows.
Anne Freeman, owner of the Big Bar Guest Ranch in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, says Germans make up about 25% of her business. They love to sleep in the ranch's teepees, which have fire pits and mattresses on raised platforms.
"When they come here, they have all sorts of gear. They'll buy the whole cowboy outfit —the boots, the hats, even the chaps if they can get them," Ms. Freeman says.
Sometimes, Germans are disappointed to find Canada is not exactly like the place they read about in the novels. "Most of them think [native people] still live in teepees."
Mr. Schnuelle says some German visitors find they are not as well-prepared for their trip as they had hoped.
"We have people come in winter who have all the latest outdoor equipment. They will spend thousands of euros on the fanciest shoes and jackets and they're disappointed to find out they're not warm enough. They aren't too happy when they find out they can buy the same things at the local Canadian Tire for a fraction of the price."
If they are lucky, German travellers will almost certainly get to see bears and caribou, but one species they will probably encounter is their own breed — the German tourist.
"I saw thousands of Germans when I was in the Yukon," says Gerhild Liegl, a Hamburg resident who has visited Canada five times.
"It's a vast country, and you come here and you're just surrounded by Germans again."
Yet, many find Canada's wilderness exceeds their expectations and come back again and again. "When you're looking through the sunglasses of tourists, things are as they had envisioned," says Mr. Schnuelle.
"They're as happy as they can be, cutting their own firewood, feeding the dogs and drilling holes in the ice. For a week or two, they really love it."