Industry Quick Facts
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Aboriginal tourism in B.C. is projected to grow to over $50 million by 2012, up from approximately $35 million today. |
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There are estimated to be upwards of 200 Aboriginal tourism businesses in B.C. – more than half of these offer cultural tourism experiences. |
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Adventure Tourism (31%), Tourism Services (22%) and Accommodation (21%) collectively comprise almost three quarters (74%) of existing Aboriginal tourism businesses in B.C. |
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B.C. Aboriginal entrepreneurs and communities are proposing at least 65 new tourism products with many existing products planning to expand by adding more cultural experiences |
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Tour operators are seeing growing consumer demand for authentic cultural experiences, with 89% indicating in a recent Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC (ATBC) survey that they would consider offering or expanding Aboriginal experiences as part of their packages. |
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Over a third (36%) of travellers surveyed in a study commissioned by ATBC for the Blueprint Strategy indicated that they had visited Aboriginal sites/attractions and events on previous trips to B.C. On average, they had included such experiences on four trips in the past three years. |
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Two-thirds (63%) of Aboriginal cultural tourists indicated that they planned to return to B.C. for Aboriginal tourism within in the next three years. |
Travellers taking part in Aboriginal tourism in B.C. tend to be:
- Well-educated, upper middle-income wage earners, female baby boomers.
- Visiting from primarily North American and European destinations.
- Including Aboriginal tourism in their B.C. travels for the first time (65%).
- Taking part in Aboriginal tourism in places beyond B.C. (64%).
- Spending more money per trip than other tourists.
Compared to other B.C. travellers these Aboriginal tourists are more apt to:
- Spend more trip days in B.C. (average of 13 days).
- Include Aboriginal experiences on more of those trip days (average of 3 days).
- Visit more than one Aboriginal location on B.C. trip (average of 2.2 sites).
- Visit Aboriginal interpretive centres (24%), attractions (22%), museums (21%).
- Travel in larger parties (average of 3.6 persons).
Source: Aboriginal Cultural Tourism Blueprint Strategy for BC Consumer Intercept Study & Visitor Post Trip Survey and Literature Review (Nov. 2005).
