Travel Yukon recently announced a plan to invest public money in promoting the fast-growing travel niche of dog-sledding tourism. The territory's snowbound wilderness already attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, and the agency is convinced that the number will climb higher still if it markets the region's guided sledding, though the difficulty lies in determining where those advertising dollars ought to be directed. The agency's marketing lead, Tara Brennan, says the plan, for now, is to promote the territory as a premier destination for travelling behind a team of huskies. "Sledding allows visitors to cross our winter landscapes under dog power without disturbing the wildlife," says Brennan. "Gentle groomed-trail runs and rugged backcountry expeditions are both highly marketable, so our next step is deciding which to support."

Operator Douglas Kerr is campaigning for the bulk of the funds to be allocated to established groomed-trail outfits like his own, Klondike Trail Tours, arguing that casual visitors have long been attracted to the wide, packed trails, where there is almost no need to steer the team around obstacles. "These backcountry outfits that have been proliferating lately market themselves as more of an extreme adventure," says Kerr. "But a groomed-trail run offers an equally exhilarating, yet considerably less punishing, excursion. It accommodates a broad demographic, including the older visitors who would rather not be thrown about on a rough back trail."