Opportunities for Aboriginal tourism increasing

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The fifth annual National Aboriginal Tourism Conference and Tradeshow was held in Winnipeg April 23 to 25 at the Radisson Hotel downtown. British Columbia's First Nations were prominent among the attendees at the event hosted by Aboriginal Tourism Team Canada, an organization comprised of government and First Nations members.

In a conference packed with workshops, craftspeople and entrepreneurs, and showcasing a large cultural delegation of singers and dancers, one of the highlights on the business side was the presentation of findings from a national study on Aboriginal Tourism. Dwayne Hounsell, board chairman of Aboriginal Tourism Team Canada (ATTC), presented the key elements. The $155,000 study completed by BearingPoint (formerly KPMG) and Goss Gilroy & Associates touched on the trends, troubles and triumphs in all aspects of Aboriginal tourism.

It drew its conclusions in part from a telephone survey of 249 Aboriginal businesses in 2001. The remainder of the study was based on a literature review, case studies, interviews with tour companies, tourism associations and others, and surveys of Aboriginal tourism operators.

The study found that Aboriginal tourism generates more economic activity than was previously believed.

In 2001, economic activity resulting from Aboriginal tourism, including casinos, totalled $4.9 billion, of which $2.9 billion, or 59 per cent of the total, resulted from tourism expenditures.

Aboriginal tourism businesses' direct contribution to the GDP is $290 million, and if casinos are included it is $596 million.

The survey also reveals Aboriginal tourism results in about 13,000 jobs, based on full-time equivalents.

Dwayne Hounsell's speech pointed up the need for predominantly small Aboriginal tourism businesses to partner with their non-Aboriginal counterparts. This would help solve some of the problems or weaknesses identified by the study. The areas needing continued effort are capacity building and tourism awareness; increasing the number of market-ready products; accessing markets and financing; and entrepreneurial skills training in business, hospitality, product packaging and marketing.

The study supported the popular perception that there is a growing demand for ecotourism, adventure and cultural tourism, which is the focus of many First Nations economic development initiatives now. In addition, product development opportunities exist for restaurants and accommodations, outdoor cultural tours and interpretive centres. Finally, the study points up an interest on the part of tourism operators to offer short (up to a day) urban-based tourist attractions that are easily accessible to city dwellers.

Hounsell said a final report of the findings will be available this spring, and the results will be used by ATTC to formulate a three-year strategy on Aboriginal tourism development.