Tourism Saskatoon is working with local entrepreneurs to try to meet the needs of tourists who are looking for the Saskatchewan experience.

We want to have some sort of a transformative experience. - Stephanie Clovechuk, Tourism Saskatoon

Consider this feedback from Australian tourist Rosie Shedden.

"We are sort of surprised, I guess, surprised and I suppose dismayed really, that a city as large as Saskatoon wouldn't have tour operators," said Shedden.

Shedden and her husband were in Saskatoon visiting their son, and while they wanted to see some of the sites, they couldn't find a good way to get around. She said she thinks there is a need for something "a bit like a wine tour where you could visit two or three places in a day."

Stephanie Clovechuk, is Tourism Saskatoon's vice president and director of destination innovation. (CBC)

No way out

The problem is not lost on Tourism Saskatoon.

"The gap in transportation is something that we must address immediately," said Stephanie Clovechuk, the agency's vice president.

"We have so much value in this province."

That's why Tourism Saskatoon is trying to encourage entrepreneurs, Clovechuk said.

"Whether it is a transportation service, a brewery tour, a guided tour, an Indigenous experience, whatever that may be, we are looking to support those individual businesses."

Clovechuk says people who live in Saskatoon need to begin taking in some of the local attractions like the river boat cruise. (Guy Quenneville/CBC News)

Sask. story

Clovechuk said the city's tourism strengths are its history, the region's Indigenous roots, the wilderness to the north and the unique urban experience of a Prairie city.

"We want to be deeply immersed in an experience. We want to have some sort of a transformative experience, so that we leave that place knowing more and feeling changed," she said.

There is also a feeling that the time is right to transform the way the city greets travelers, after all the New York Times named Saskatoon one if its 52 places in the world to visit.

That said, Clovechuk and Tourism Saskatoon are not forgetting about the locals. She encouraged Saskatonians to get out and see the city's attractions. She gave an example of a recent trip on the Prairie Lily, where most of the locals on board had never been on the ship before.

"This is the time right now, "she said. "Experience your own destination and see the value of what's going on here."