For years, Lois Nuttall would attend North American motor coach trade shows and listen to endless pitches from tour operators wanting to bring Canadians south to their vacation destination.
After listening to one too many spiels, the thought eventually dawned on the Thunder Bay bus operator, “Where's our share for Northern Ontario and Lake Superior?”
It was the inspiration that led to Lake Superior Visits, a Thunder Bay guide and tour operator company she co-owns with husband, David.
Incorporated in 1997, the company provides hospitality guide services and itinerary planning for bus tours, visiting cruise ships, corporate outings and holiday packages.
The hook is Lake Superior with its immense size and rugged shoreline as one of the largest freshwater bodies in world.
And there's no shortage of things to see and do.
Nuttall quickly rhymes off the dig-your-own amethyst mines, kayaking excursions on the North Shore, guided hikes into Eagle and Ouimet Canyons, and the postcard beauty of driving the Lake Superior Circle Route.
“We try and give people a little more than what they asked for with great guides and getaways,” said Nuttall, a former teacher and consultant at Thunder Bay Ventures.
Nuttall grew up in the family business, Iron Range Bus Lines, a school bus and charter company that's now owned by a nephew.
From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Nuttall and her sister operated Bayway Transit & Tours, mainly running outbound coach tours to Minneapolis and Florida.
In shifting gears to packaging inbound tours, she learned to be a guide through self-study and by constantly “asking and asking.”
With a part-time staff ranging between 12 and 15 employees, the busiest months are August to October as “step-on guides” with motor coach tours, visiting Great Lakes cruise ship passengers and convention groups.
She's in frequent contact with group tour companies, local convention hotels and vessel operators like Hapag-Lloyd and Travel Dynamics.
Excursions can be tailored to a group's nationality, age and interest.
It can range from city-and-country tours out to attractions like Kakabeka Falls, to a photography seminar at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park and Silver Islet, to a visit to Fort William Historical Park followed by a painting workshop at the Ahnisnabae Art Gallery.
A new trend is relocation services for corporate executives and professionals.
Whenever Lakehead University, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute or a company is wooing a high-profile candidate, Nuttall is sure to get a call.
“The last few years, we've been doing a fair amount of orientation tours.”
Nuttall takes them on a history and lifestyle drive through the city, sometimes with a real estate agent tagging along for a tour of neighbourhoods.
The company promotes sustainable tourism that showcases the area's cultural and natural features, while minimizing environmental impacts.
That's where David is utilized for his knowledge as a science educator and decades of experience as an outdoorsman on Lake Superior.
As a founding member of the Lake Superior Conservancy and Watershed Council, the company buys services from local outfitters for backpacking, mountain biking and kayaking excursions.
Nuttall said if there's room for future growth, it's in the App market for motorcycle and RV groups and recreational boaters, incorporating GPS technology to point out and interpret points of interest.
