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Province announces funding to support Indigenous tourism

Dec 11, 2018 | 10:20 AM

EDMONTON, AB — The provincial government has announced a new grant to fund support for Indigenous tourism in Alberta.

The province announce funding of $575,000 over three years to allow the start-up of Indigenous Tourism Alberta, an organization aimed at growing and promoting Indigenous tourism in the province.

“Travellers to Alberta want to experience authentic Indigenous culture. This funding will help Indigenous entrepreneurs meet the growing demand,” said Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism, in a news release. “We are thrilled to help share Indigenous stories and grow Alberta’s suite of tourism offerings.”

The funding will allow the organization to help Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities recognize potential tourism opportunities, such as authentic cultural offerings and Indigenous stories. A three-year partnership with Tourism Alberta is also in place, with the organization investing $65,000 during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

“Travel Alberta continues to support initiatives designed to grow and promote Indigenous tourism throughout the province and work with individual tour operators to develop new experiences and share them with the world,” said Royce Chwin, CEO of Travel Alberta, in a statement. “This is an important part of Travel Alberta’s ongoing work with our tourism partners to sustain industry momentum and support the Government of Alberta’s goal to grow the provincial tourism economy.”