Winners at the Fourth Annual Tourism Awards, co-presented by Travel Manitoba and Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism (Travel Manitoba Photo)
World’s only luxury polar bear walking safari operator recognized for exceptional visitor experiences across 32 years of Arctic adventure
We’re proud to announce that Churchill Wild was named Business of the Year — Large (Manitoba) at the Fourth Annual Tourism Awards, co-presented by Travel Manitoba and Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg on April 23, 2026.
Presented to a tourism business, facility, event or attraction with 20 or more employees that provides exceptional visitor experiences resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction, the Business of the Year — Large award recognized Churchill Wild’s 32 years of ground-level polar bear walking safaris on the Hudson Bay coast. Each category honours one Manitoba recipient and one Winnipeg recipient for their accomplishments in 2025. Winnipeg Waterways was named Business of the Year — Large (Winnipeg).
Churchill Wild, the world’s only operator of ground-level polar bear walking safaris from luxury ecolodges on the Hudson Bay coast, has built one of Canada’s most recognizable adventure travel brands on four principles: ethical wildlife viewing that puts the bears’ wellbeing ahead of the encounter, the safety of every guest on every outing, exceptional customer experiences, and a commitment to sustainable operations that leaves the tundra as it was found.
“This award belongs to our entire team,” said Mike Reimer, co-founder and owner, Churchill Wild. “The management, the guides, and our wonderful support staff at the lodges and in the office who inspire us every day and make our success possible. A heartfelt thank you to Travel Manitoba and to Calm Air for years of solid, reliable service in the north. To our fellow nominees, congratulations. This is a big win for all of you. Well done from Jeanne and me.”
Churchill Wild was selected from a field of nominees that reflects the remarkable breadth of Manitoba’s tourism industry: Assiniboia Downs, Asessippi Ski Hill and Resort, Elkhorn Resort Spa and Conference Centre, Interlake Brewing Co., Select Start – Arcade Resto-lounge, Thermea Spa Village Winnipeg, and Winnipeg Waterways.
About Churchill Wild
Summer polar bear photography! Seal River Heritage Lodge. Birds, Bears & Belugas. Jad Davenport photo.
Founded by Mike and Jeanne Reimer in 1993, with a single paying guest in 1994, Churchill Wild is the world’s only luxury polar bear walking safari operator. The family business has welcomed over 10,000 guests across three decades, hosting more than 860 international visitors annually across three remote luxury ecolodges on the Hudson Bay coast — Seal River Heritage Lodge and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, both original members of the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World collection, and Dymond Lake Ecolodge — as well as the Blueberry Inn, its newest property in Churchill.
Recognized by National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, the New York Times, and the BBC as offering the best location for ground-level polar bear footage, Churchill Wild has attracted film crews for Netflix’s Predators and National Geographic’s Wild Life: The Big Freeze, and is a destination of choice for wildlife photographers seeking intimate, ground-level access to polar bears in their natural habitat.
The company has earned over 500 five-star reviews on TripAdvisor and won numerous national and international tourism awards, including the 2025 Inspire Me Award for Luxury Experience of the Year presented at the LuxusInsider gala in Hamburg, the 2017 Transat Sustainable Tourism Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and the 2016 Adventure/Outdoors Award at the Canadian Tourism Awards.
Mike and Jeanne Reimer have been elected Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada in 2024. Mike was also honoured with a prestigious PURE Life Experiences award in 2017 for Contribution to Experiential Travel.
Churchill Wild’s operations are guided by strict ethical wildlife viewing protocols, renewable energy investment, tundra-to-table cuisine, and community and conservation partnerships that drive economic activity across Manitoba’s north.
We hope you can join us one day!
