Visitors today are looking for an authentic and quality Indigenous cultural tourism experience. Our Ancestors have shared our culture with visitors to our traditional territories since time immemorial, closely guided by their community values of respect, honour and integrity. To succeed, our industry needs to respect those same values. It makes for an “authentic” experience for our visitor, while helping to ensure that our future generations have that same opportunity.
All Indigenous-owned and managed business in the tourism sector must meet the industry-wide standard to be considered “market ready”. By claiming that you are “market ready” you are stating that the quality and consistency of your experience is of high standard and will be delivered at the same level each and every time.
The intent of this guide is to inspire excellence in Indigenous cultural tourism (ICT) experiences across Canada. These National guidelines are your tool to help you to develop and deliver a “market ready” and authentic ICT product. The guide contains valuable information, checklists and best practices. A self-assessment using this guide will help you to develop, deliver, and price an authentic Indigenous tourism experience – making you more competitive and successful. It will also help you improve the quality of the visitor experience – which will result in more visitors and growth for your tourism experience.