October 29, 2019, Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Vancouver, BC – The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is working closely with Travel Nunavut to support Indigenous tourism development, including offering free ITAC memberships to all Travel Nunavut’s Indigenous members.
Travel Nunavut has been in operation since 1998 and of their 140 members, 60 are Inuit-owned and operated tourism businesses.
“With demand for Indigenous tourism experiences growing across Canada, we are also fielding numerous requests from international tour operators for more experiences in Canada’s north. We welcome this opportunity to work more closely with Travel Nunavut by engaging their Inuit members with our team, and supporting training and product development,” says Keith Henry, President and CEO of ITAC. “We do see this as a win-win, as it allows our team to learn more about the needs of our most northern Indigenous members.”
Travel Nunavut’s principal mandate is to build and serve its membership, provide workshops, increase benefits and advocate on behalf of members. Additionally, Travel Nunavut will have a strategic framework in place to increase industry standards in the areas of training and product development in collaboration with the Economic, Development and Transportation of Nunavut.
“Working with ITAC will not only expand our capacity to support our Indigenous tourism operators, it will help broaden our ability to market to our target traveller the range and quality of experiences available to visitors coming to Nunavut looking for Indigenous tourism,” says Kevin Kelly, CEO of Travel Nunavut.
Examples of Inuit owned tourism business in Nunavut include:
Arctic Bay Adventures, a locally run adventure company that is part of the Inuit owned and operated community of Arctic Bay. Arctic Bay offers a variety of packages that showcase the Inuit culture, wildlife and dramatic landscapes of the far north including “Life on the Floe Edge”, “Igloo City in Arctic Bay” and “Arctic in Bloom”.
Igloo Tourism and Outfitting is an Inuit owned and operated company that offers a wide variety of packages including fishing, scenic boat tours and customized wildlife viewing excursions, showcasing the traditional skills needed to hunt and survive in the Canadian north.
Inns North is a collection of 17 hotels owned and operated by community members across Nunavut.
About Travel Nunavut
Travel Nunavut is a not-for-profit membership association that encourages tourism development by providing specialized knowledge and expertise in four key areas: marketing, research and communication, market readiness, and advocacy. We exist to support and promote our members’ products and services to the world. Travel Nunavut seeks partnerships with governments, Inuit Associations, communities, and tourism operators to promote tourism opportunities that encourage sustainable economic growth, cultural preservation and sustainable social benefits for Nunavummiut.
About the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is the lead organization tasked with growing the Indigenous tourism industry across the country. Inspired by a vision for a thriving Indigenous tourism economy sharing authentic, memorable and enriching experiences, ITAC develops relationships with other groups and regions with similar mandates. By uniting the Indigenous tourism industry in Canada, ITAC works to enable collective support, product development, promotion and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism businesses in a respectful protocol. With Indigenous tourism outpacing Canadian tourism activity overall, and international demand for Indigenous experiences at an all-time high, ITAC recently updated its five-year plan. To view packages and experiences available visit IndigenousCanada.Travel. For more information on ITAC visit IndigenousTourism.ca
Media contacts:
Deirdre Campbell, Beattie Tartan
250-592-3838, 250-882-9199 (cell)
Deirdre.Campbell@BeattieGroup.com
Keith Henry, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
604-639-4408, 778-388-5013(cell)
Keith@IndigenousTourism.ca
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