Category Archives: Tourism

Indigenous Nations, Tourism

Klahoose Wilderness Resort supports Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund 

The Klahoose Wilderness Resort  has partnered with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) to support the newly launched Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund. 

“There’s 800 new Indigenous tourism businesses that this strategy is going to support. Those are new ones. I think there’s 300 now that are like Klahoose Wilderness Resort across the country.  Most of them are small businesses like ours,”  explained Chris Tait, Tourism manager for the Klahoose Wilderness Resort.

“We’re part of the original accreditation program with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, where they recognize Indigenous tourism businesses. There’s three levels. You have to  meet a whole bunch of criteria, like: have a business plan; a marketing plan;  work with international visitors;  be an Indigenous owned business; and have an Indigenous experience.”

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Food, Indigenous Nations, Tourism

QXMC’s New General Manager, Marco Bedetti

The Klahoose First Nation Development Corporation, QXMC, has a new General Manager. 

“In mid August I was approached by a member of the board I work closely with, who asked me if I was interested in applying for the position as General Manager. I gave it some thought and went ahead. It was a long process including several interviews, skill assessments and psychological evaluations. Thereafter the board took time to review all candidates, reflect and just at the end of last week they came to the decision of hiring me,” explained Marco Bedetti. 

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Tourism

Cortes Island’s First Two Tourism Cafes

Close to 40 residents turned out to the first two Tourism Cafes on Cortes Island. The Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) brought in Lesley Anderson and Nancy Arsenault to facilitate meetings at Mansons and Gorge Halls last week. The pair will host a virtual Tourism Cafe on  Wednesday, November 1st from 10 am to 12 pm, and return in January to present their findings. 

“ People came out of the meeting feeling a lot more informed about this planning process and how it can be a force for better tourism outcomes on the island in the future.  A process like this can be really useful and it doesn’t have to result in greater tourism. It’s how we can nuance that tourism and make it better for the island and just attract the right visitors,” explained Kate Maddigan, Economic Development Officer of CCEDA.

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Tourism

Seeking Your Input For A New Vision Of Tourism On Cortes Island

Lesley Anderson and Nancy Arsenault are bringing a new vision of tourism to Mansons Hall on Monday, October 23rd and Gorge Hall the following day.

“The old model of tourism  where you just focused on the visitors doesn’t work. How do you build tourism for the benefit of all and not just the visitors? How can tourism – the dollars that it brings, the amenities and infrastructure that can be brought – benefit residents first, along with the visitors. How do you build it based on what residents are looking for? It’s a new lens and it’s called regenerative tourism,” explained Anderson. 

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Tourism, Transportation

BC Ferries frustrates tourists ​– ​but they’re still lining up to come here

Originally published on qathet Living

So far this summer, 18 guests have cancelled their accommodations at the Old Courthouse Inn, due to problems with BC Ferries.

“It would have been many more, but I talked a lot of them down,” explained Kelly Belanger, who has owned the Inn for 11 years, and says he has never seen a summer like this before ​– ​​featuring unpredictable ferry overloads and cancellations.

“Most guests just look at the chaos as it’s being reported on the news, and believe they won’t be able to get here, so they call to cancel. I tell them, ‘No, actually, ferries are usually reliable. Get there two hours before your sailing and you’ll probably get on.’

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