Growing tourism industry opportunities highlighted

Page 8

Eco-North 2004, an educational opportunity for entrepreneurial-minded First Peoples, is coming to Thunder Bay Nov. 24 to 27. The tourism conference and trade show aims to foster heritage, adventure and nature-based activities in Northern Ontario, key resources that Native communities have to offer.

With an increasing demand by the baby boomer population for more culturally relevant learning experiences, Native communities are in an ideal position to capitalize on this trend.

According to Colleen Martin of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF), they have all the resources at hand to be successful eco-tourism operators, and they recognize that "Tourism is one of these sectors that there's a lot of development in." Outside of Internet-based businesses such as retail operations that can be operated remotely, many of their clients recognize they are too far from major markets to compete economically with southern businesses.

"At one point in time fun in the sun was everything, and ... [as] the baby boomers are aging ... they're looking for very real experiences, and it's often tied to learning," explained Bill Rogoza, general manager of the Northern Ontario Native Tourism Association (NONTA).

Moccasin Trail Tours, a subsidiary of NONTA, offers one such popular tour. "Welcome to the Homeland" tours Kakabeka Falls, Fort William Historical Park and Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

Then the tourists fly to Webequie First Nation where they live with Ojibway people and go fishing, hunting and canoeing. The tour ends at Peawanuck where tourists go sightseeing for polar bear, seal and beluga whale by floatplane.

Rogoza, also a steering committee member for Eco-North, said that the conference "provides knowledge of what's happening in the industry from experts that we wouldn't normally be able to afford to bring in ourselves ... Because it is specific to eco-tourism, it offers an opportunity for the membership [of NONTA] and other First Nations ... to know more about some of the upcoming things in terms of the industry."

Aboriginal people will play a pivotal role in the conference. Eco-North will host several guest speakers and workshop presenters from First Nations and Metis communities.

Roger Lefrancois, a Metis from Northern Saskatchewan and founder of HLA Consultants, will conduct a workshop called "Aboriginal Tourism Development: Success Factors."

HLA Consultants has many international Aboriginal clients and most of their Canadian clients are Aboriginal.

Roger Lefrancois finds that the main hurdles Native people have starting a successful tourism business are the lack of funding for proper business development and planning, a lack of managerial knowledge and a lack of marketing capabilities.

"You know it takes a genius to market effectively," said Lefrancois.

"That's where you need a heck of a lot of help and the right type of partnerships to make that work."

Lefrancois, a former economic development advisor to the Alberta minister responsible for Native affairs, is also part of a panel conducting a plenary session on finding the right business partners.

"I've focused a lot on how to bring the partners and which partners to bring together to make these businesses go.

"Because one of the things that I've found is, you know a lot of people have dreams about wanting to do something, but the ability to do it is an incredible challenge."

Lefrancois will share his wisdom at the conference and provide examples of specific case studies in the tourism industry that he has been involved in from the inception of his business up to today.

Touching on the spiritual side of things, Virginia McKenzie will talk about the Temagami Anishnabai Tipi Camp, another successful tourism experience offered by Moccasin Trail Tours.

In this camp, tourists row in a pontoon boat to Lake Temagami in the Temagami old growth forest, where they look at unique rock formations, go on medicine walks and listn to traditional drumming, stories and legends around a campfire.

Glen Nolan of Beartrack Cultural Wilderness Adventures will present the workshop, "Where is the Culture in Ecotourism?"

Nolan will address how tour operators can incorporate cultural exchanges with Native communities to enhance the value of the trip for their clients.

Cheryl Coppenance of the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Cultural Centre will participate in a panel workshop about "Wild Culture: Developing Cultural Tourism in the North."

Well-known Taiwanese entrepreneur Bruce Poon Tip, founder and president of Great Adventure People and winner of many business awards, will present a workshop on tourism development that is based on a project he undertook with the Squamish First Nation of British Columbia.

NONTA is taking advantage of the timing of the conference to hold its annual general meeting the day before Eco-North opens.

"We, as an association, are acting on behalf of our members, so we try to make it easy for them to access opportunities that are out there, and one is Eco-North 2004," said Rogoza.