Canada’s Indigenous Tourism Branding Serves as Model for the Americas

In a first for the Americas, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) has launched a new brand mark, titled “The Original Original,” to certify and help consumers identify and learn about indigenous-led tourism experiences and products in Canada. This is part of a push to help save the remaining 1,000 indigenous tourism businesses, down from 1,900 pre-pandemic, and place them at the forefront of Canadians’ minds as the country reopens to domestic tourism. “The mark is really signaling a restart for us,” said Keith Henry, CEO of Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC). “We’re just trying to rebuild sentiment, a lot of it is speaking to our indigenous communities and our businesses that we can start rebuilding.” With the Canada-U.S. border still closed, and international tourism delayed, indigenous tourism businesses are challenged to pivot to local markets. The new brand efforts follows recent enthusiasm which shows that Canadians are taking a closer effort to enjoy more slow-paced travel, as revealed by an Insignia Research study. Skift says ndigenous tourism and its success in 2019 serves as inspiration for other similar tourism industries and travel styles across the Americas.