A new survey released by the Department of Tourism and Culture shows there have been significant drops in tourists feeling they receive value for their money while visiting the Yukon.

The survey questioned people visiting the territory from June to September 2004. It reports that only 70 per cent said they felt they had received value for money on their trip.

This number is down 17 per cent from the 87 per cent of people who said they had received value for their money in a similar survey in 1999. It's also down 22 per cent from the 92 per cent of people satisfied with the value in 1994.

Patti Balsillie, chief executive officer for the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, said today the drop in numbers is not a major concern for the association.

'The number doesn't say enough,' she said.

There is no breakdown of what people were dissatisfied with, she said. There are a lot of experiences that could 'sour' visitors' trips and affect how they rate their travels on the survey, she said.

Some people may have had unrealistic expectations about the quality of hotel, or it could have been a bad experience at a restaurant, she said.

She added that last summer's forest fires could have had a major impact on people's opinions of their trips.

'I would want to see a greater breakdown of the survey,' Balsillie said.

The lack of a numerical breakdown on issues discussed throughout the report means the association isn't drawing any conclusions from the report and isn't overly concerned about the results, she added.

The survey also shows there has been a significant drop in international visitors coming from outside of North America.

International visitors only accounted for nine per cent of the tourists in the territory over the summer period. It is a 17-per-cent drop from 1999, or 4,493 fewer tourists.

Balsillie said those numbers could be a result of the survey not continuing into the shoulder seasons, which tend to be a more popular travel time for European tourists.

The German airline company, Condor, has had growth over the past year, she said, and is an indication that international interest in coming to the Yukon is not decreasing.

The survey is a 'construed' sample of information, she said.

A survey that only occurs every five years and only looks at the peak season doesn't allow for a true understanding of the what is happening in the industry, she said.

However, Balsillie added it's the best tool available now for the association.

Overall, Balsillie said, she is 'not displeased' with the results shown in the survey and that she's glad to see areas of growth.

The number of American visitors to the territory has increased 14 per cent or 23,852 visitors since 1999. That means 77 per cent or 194,136 of all visitors to the Yukon over the summer period were from the United States.

There was also a five-per-cent increase in Canadian visitors from the 1999 survey. However, Canadians still only account for 14 per cent or 35,505 of the tourists coming to the territory.

Overall, 251,704 visitors came to the Yukon in the summer of 2004, an eight-per-cent increase from 1999, spending a total of $75,854,000 during their travels.

Balsillie said with the major international changes and travel worries that have occurred over the last four years, from Sept. 11 to the American war in Iraq and against terrorism to SARS, West Nile virus and forest fire scares, it's positive to see there is continued growth in the industry.

The survey confirms tourism remains one of the Yukon's top economic forces.

Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor was unavailable to comment on the results.