The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada has been awarded $2 million in funding and $950,000 of in-kind support in order to help stabilize the Indigenous tourism sector.
According to ITAC, this funding ensures the organization will be able to move forward with their marketing campaign promoting Indigenous tourism from coast to coast, titled The Original Original. ITAC launched the campaign on 21JUN, National Indigenous Peoples Day.
Prior to MAR 2020, Indigenous tourism was outpacing all other tourism sectors in Canada for growth, bringing an estimated $1.9 billion in revenue to Canada’s GDP. At that time, there were an estimated 40,000 Indigenous tourism employees and 1,800 Indigenous-led businesses. Today there are an estimated 15,000 employees and 1,000 businesses left.
“Research from Destination Canada shows that one in three Canadians are interested in Indigenous experiences,” says Keith Henry, president and CEO of ITAC.
“Destination Canada’s support at this time has allowed us protection from insolvency and will give Indigenous tourism experiences the chance to remain competitive as tourism rebounds. This partnership is invaluable to the entire Indigenous tourism industry and we are extremely grateful for Destination Canada’s support, recognizing the value of Indigenous tourism to this country. ITAC will continue advocating for additional support in order to ensure the survival of the Indigenous tourism industry and is hopeful other partners will support and recognize the value of Indigenous tourism as well.”
More information on ITAC is available here.
