October 30, 2018, Treaty 6 Territory and Homeland of the Métis (Saskatoon, SK) – Online conversations about Indigenous tourism in Canada have grown five times over the last two years, according to new research conducted by Destination Think!, in partnership with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC).

Online conversations driven by ITAC grew from 1,000 mentions from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, to over 5,000 mentions, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Overall, online conversations surrounding Indigenous tourism in Canada, grew from roughly 63,000 mentions in 2015 to almost 72,000 in 2017.

According to Destination Think!, 50 per cent of all online conversation volume stemmed from the top five ITAC members.
“To know our organization has played a large role in driving online conversation surrounding Indigenous tourism in Canada is extremely rewarding,” says Keith Henry, president and CEO of ITAC. “It’s great to know more people are becoming aware of the many Indigenous tourism experiences available in Canada, these conversations can only continue to grow.”

The overall online sentiment from ITAC driven conversation is +25, meaning the majority of conversation driven by ITAC surrounding Indigenous tourism in Canada is positive.

The research was unveiled at the 2018 International Indigenous Tourism Conference, which brings together delegates from the Canadian tourism industry, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities, as well as representatives from global Indigenous tourism organizations to discuss Indigenous tourism topics, barriers, opportunities and trends across Canada and the world.

The two-day tourism conference started today and will see over 500 delegates taking part in panel discussions, breakout sessions, keynote presentations and local cultural experiences.

This year, the theme is, “The Indigenous Tourism Economy: Learning Together and Sharing Our Stories.” The full schedule is available online at https://www.indigenoustourismconference.com/agenda/.

About Destination Think! and the Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI)

Word of mouth and peer-to-peer conversations deeply influence travel decisions. Now, sentiment analysis allows destination marketers to understand online word of mouth on a massive scale. With the right expertise and range of data, sentiment analysis can benchmark DMO performance and provide relevant, valuable insights to stakeholders.

To meet that need, Destination Think! has developed the Tourism Sentiment Index (TSI), a turnkey sentiment analysis product for DMOs. We simplify big data and provide destinations with clear, actionable insights to lead their tourism industries and communities. For more information, visit https://destinationthink.com/get-tsi/

About the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) works to improve the socio-economic condition of Indigenous peoples through the provisions of economic development advisory services, tourism conferences, capacity development training and workshops, industry research and information for Indigenous tourism operators and communities within the 13 regions; 10 provinces and three territories of Canada. ITAC develops relationships with other groups and regions with similar mandates, uniting the Indigenous tourism industry in Canada and works to enable collective support, product development, promotion and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism businesses in a respectful protocol. ITAC also just released their brand-new experience guide, detailing Indigenous experiences across Canada, in which visitors can learn about the values of the respect, honour and integrity that guides our communities while discovering the traditional territories, history, people and culture that has been a part of our country for centuries. To down load the full 2018/19 Guide to Indigenous Tourism in Canada go to: https://indigenoustourism.ca/indigenous-tourism-experience-guide/. The ITAC Board is made up of Indigenous tourism industry representatives from each of the provinces and territories. For more information, visit www.indigenoustourism.ca.
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Media contacts:
Jenna Hickman, Beattie Tartan: 250-592-3838, 250-215-8425 (cell) or jenna.hickman@beattiegroup.com
Keith Henry, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada: 604-639-4408 or keith@indigenoustourism.ca

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