Indigenous Tourism: A Rapidly Growing Industry That Needs To Be Supported
Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) recently commissioned a study to show that Ontario’s Indigenous Tourism Industry is an important voice that needs to be supported. This study was prepared by Canadian Ecotourism Services (CES). Ontario has the largest Indigenous Tourism Sector in Canada, and ITO wants to ensure Ontario remains at the forefront of Canada’s Indigenous Tourism sector.
Findings revealed that Ontario’s Indigenous Tourism Industry has an economic impact of $622.1 million on the province’s GDP. This industry also supports 12,924 jobs in Ontario, which accounts for 53% of the jobs in Canada’s Indigenous Tourism sector. The Indigenous Tourism Industry is rapidly increasing with a 23.2% growth between 2014 and 2017, which surpasses Canada’s overall tourism activity growth by 8.7%.
This report will help ITO create strategies and action items to support the rapidly-growing Indigenous Tourism Industry in the province. This research will also help share its organizational strategy moving forward. ITO looks to effectively and efficiently grow the visitor economy by collaborating with partners such as Regional Tourism Organizations, Destination Ontario, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation, and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.
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