A Northern BC First Nations band is partnering with Indigenous Tourism BC and the regional tourism group in a first of its kind collaboration.
Chair of the Northern BC Tourism Association Gladys Atrill says signing an agreement with the Nisga’a Lisims government is not something that’s happened before.
“The general areas of focus are going to be trying to figure out what we can do in marketing as the Nisga’a people develop and develop more tourism products and looking at how we collaborate to market that to the rest of the world.”
The two main areas of collaboration outlined in the agreements are developing a world-class, market-ready tourism business in the Nass Valley and positioning it as a renowned indigenous tourism destination.
“It is something we are all really proud of, and it is looking towards the future, figuring out how we work together,” adds Atrill.
“People are super interested in indigenous tourism, and we have these amazing projects in Northern BC and the Nisga’a territory, so it’s a great opportunity to work together.”
As of 2016, there were more than 400 indigenous tourism-related businesses throughout the province generating $795 million in direct gross output.
According to Indigenous tourism BC, the industry also provided 7,400 full-time jobs.
– with files from Sawyer Bogdan, My Bulkley Lakes Now