Alberta’s Indigenous tourism economy is set to grow to over $140 million by 2026, thanks in part to a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Tourism Calgary and Indigenous Tourism Alberta (ITA).

The MOU was signed on Jan. 23, at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino in Tsuut’ina, and reflects a $1 million commitment by Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Hotel Association through 2027 towards Indigenous tourism in the Calgary region.

The funding will be used to support an Indigenous tourism development specialist role within Indigenous Tourism Alberta, and to support the marketing efforts of the ITA to share the message about visitor opportunities for authentic Alberta Indigenous experiences.

Tourism Calgary has also pledged to cover the membership fees for businesses in Treaty 7 territory, as well as Métis Districts 1 through 6 who wish to join the ITA.

“Having this MOU in place is really exciting. It is an amazing collaboration where we can join our efforts together to increase capacity for tourism in general, as well as really highlighting indigenous tourism in such a beautiful way. These partnerships are crucial to us,” said Brenda Holder, Chair of the Board of Indigenous Tourism Alberta.

She said that the coverage of membership fees, in particular, was of major benefit to smaller tourism operators who have big ideas but not necessarily the same kind of big funding.

“It means everything to the members in the association, because they may have an incredible and exceptional experience, but perhaps they just don’t have the means to pay for a membership right off the bat. They’re hot and ready to get out the gate to offer something incredible for our guests that are arriving,” Holder said.

“Having somebody to come and just pick up the tab and take a little bit of that burden away, it means the world.”

Not nearly enough Indigenous operators to meet demand

She said that the development funding would also help to build capacity within the industry, that sees demand far outstrip the number of experiences available.

That demand, said Alisha Reynolds, CEO of Tourism Calgary, represents large segments of the visitors who are travelling to the city and the region.

“Over 50 per cent of Albertans want to have an Indigenous tourism experience, and that number internationally is one-in-three international travellers that want to have an Indigenous experience when they’re here visiting Calgary,” she said.

“We need to invest into further enhancing those relationships, connecting the dots between passionate entrepreneurs and creators and the people who want to experience those things when they’re here visiting Calgary. So this investment is about closing that gap between recognizing the incredible demand for Indigenous tourism experiences and the supply that we can create together.”

Within the convention space, Reynolds said that between 60 and 70 per cent of meeting planners are asking what kind of authentic Indigenous experiences can be provided to their attendees.

“They’re asking what is there to see and do? Asking questions about smudging protocols. They want to be connected. There’s a hunger for knowledge and learning, and we know that the Indigenous community is really excited to match up that hunger with their storytelling, their experiences,” Reynolds said.

“It’s Indigenous voices that will help us continue to expand the meetings and conventions business and connection to community.”

Indigenous tourism set for big gains in visitors, and big dollars for GDP

Overall, the projections for tourism show that the sector is set for “explosive growth,” Reynolds said.

“We think the conditions are right, right now between the people and the stories and the infrastructure and relationships being created for this to be a marquee year for Indigenous tourism in Alberta,” she said.

Sol Zia, Executive Director with the Calgary Hotel Association, said that hotels were pleased to help fund ITA and that it would have a big return on investment.

“Ultimately, it’s going to lead to more visitors, visitors that stay longer, have more experiences in the market. It’ll also lead to word of mouth for those who are planning travel and talking about the great indigenous product that we have in the region,” Zia said.

“Anything that drives more visitors and longer stay of visitors and a greater experience, that’s our mandate to deliver. It is fantastic to have brought a path to financial support for it.”

He said, echoing Reynolds, that people would be surprised just how often hotels are asked where visitors and delegations can be taken for unique Indigenous experiences.

“The answer of the markets is we don’t have that. We’ll have to. So the less we have to scramble to bring visitors and delegates into those experiences, the better, and I think it gives us a competitive advantage in other markets,” Zia said.

“This is business after all, and we’re here to support both tourism Calgary and indigenous tourism Alberta in those endeavours.”

The ITA and Tourism Calgary said that Alberta is the only province in the nation that had MOUs between Indigenous tourism, the Government of Alberta, and destination marketing organizations.

Holder said that was a competitive advantage for Indigenous tourism operators in Alberta.

“Increasing the partnerships between Indigenous operators and non-Indigenous operators really adds to a much more fulsome and wholesome experience for the our visitors that come to the area,” she said.

“We truly are stronger together. We have the capacity to do different things and to share our strengths across the board in order to be highly competitive in the tourism market, and doing that side-by-side creates wonderful opportunities.”