Destination Vancouver, Indigenous Tourism B.C. embark on new partnership

Vancouver's tourism board signed a memorandum of understanding with Indigenous Tourism B.C. Monday, pledging to develop a more inclusive, sustainable and diverse tourism industry in the city. 

Royce Chwin, the president and CEO of Destination Vancouver, called it an example of reconciliation in action. 

"We can build a future that fully reflects the culture and diversity of our local First Nations and the history of the lands we welcome travellers to," Chwin said. 

The partnership comes at a difficult time for the industry.

A report from the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada and the Conference Board of Canada in September said even with the very best travel conditions, Indigenous tourism operations are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2028.  According to the report, Indigenous tourism created about 39,000 jobs and contributed an estimated $1.86 billion in direct gross domestic product before the pandemic.

Brenda Baptiste, the chair of Indigenous Tourism B.C. said the sector would persevere. 

"We've gone through difficult challenges over the last few years with COVID and the flooding … our elders remind us that resilience is [part of] who we are as a people — not just Indigenous people, but people in B.C.," Baptiste said. 

Calling Vancouver a gateway to the rest of the province, Baptiste said the partnership held exciting possibilities, especially considering the rich Indigenous history of the region.

"We want to change the perspective," she said. "We want people to leave here inspired to explore their own culture."

The partnership will result in other concrete actions, Chwin said, including setting up a scholarship program for Indigenous students who enter a tourism related program, and incorporating more Indigenous voices and stories into Destination Vancouver's promotional materials.  

Fairs, festivals and events fund expanded to help tourism

Also on Monday, the provincial government expanded its grant program to fund fairs, festivals and other events in the province to help tourism recovery.

The government will give one-time grants to cover as much as 20 per cent of the event's budget, up to $250,000, for operational costs, health and safety measures, venue rental, marketing, wages and promotion. It had originally budgeted a $12.9-million event-fund in August, which it has now expanded to $30 million. 

Tourism Minister Melanie Mark says it means the Fairs, Festivals and Events Recovery Fund grant will now help cover costs for more than 680 events in 134 communities.