Ottawa putting $2.5M into Indigenous tourism

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This article was published 22/05/2019 (2438 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Indigenous Manitobans want the world to experience their foods and cultures, according to a national advocacy group.

This afternoon in Winnipeg, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada is set to receive $2.5 million in federal funds, as part of the Liberals’ tourism strategy.

“Visitors want to understand what makes Canada different, and part of that is Indigenous destinations,” said Keith Henry, head of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.

The funding aims to co-ordinate a cross-country food tour called Taste of the Nations, as well as a marketing campaign and training so businesses know how to connect with tourism boards and market themselves abroad.

Tourism Minister Mélanie Joly will announce the funding this afternoon at the Manitoba Museum’s Grasslands Gallery.

It’s part of a plan aimed at making the Canadian economy take tourism more seriously.

The Liberals have listed tourism as one of seven target industries to drive job growth, along with clean technology and food products.

Of 1,800 Indigenous businesses in Canada, Henry said, just 130 are ready to welcome foreigners.

“We’re doing a significant push to help more Indigenous tourism businesses become more market- and export-ready. That’s a big challenge for us,” he said.

Henry said the Prairies in particular are lagging behind other regions in developing Indigenous hotels, restaurants and attractions for international guests.

Tourists to Churchill take in Inuit art and Cree dog-sledding. But Winnipeg isn’t as well-known for Métis jigging at festivals, stores that sell beaded goods and First Nations restaurants such as Feast Café Bistro.

“Largely, (when) people think of Churchill, they think of fishing. They don’t think of Manitoba as an Indigenous destination,” he said.

He added that businesses in British Columbia, Ontario, the Yukon and Quebec do a much better job at marketing such experiences.

He’s hopeful the funding will help Métis people show visitors part of their history as part of next year’s Manitoba 150th birthday celebration.

Canadians make up half of the customer base for those businesses, followed by Americans and Chinese tourists, who tend to spend more. Western Europeans are also make up a large chunk of visitors.

Henry feels his industry empowers Indigenous people, through economic opportunity and a chance to tell their own stories.

“Indigenous cultural tourism is one of the most powerful ways to actually achieve reconciliation, because it gives people a non-politicized way to come and experience,” he said, such as touring the land with an elder or trying traditional foods.

Of the funds, a half-million is set to flow in the current fiscal year, with the other $2 million set to come in the year after.

Henry said the schedule was at his group’s request, so they have enough time to get projects off the ground.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca