For pandemic recovery, British Columbia offers $3.7 million to assist indigenous tourism

Saturday, January 29, 2022

The B.C. government has recently declared that it’s providing $3.7 million to assist Indigenous businesses and wants to see them returning to the previous flourishing levels by 2024.

Brenda Baptiste, chair of Indigenous Tourism BC, in a recent interview with APTN News explained that the money declared on Jan. 19 will go towards many things.

“So that funding will go towards training, capacity building, alignment of our strategic plans between us and the province and other organizations that are based in tourism and support resources to our stakeholders as well,” she said.

She also mentioned that in building the Indigenous tourism industry in BC, the provincial government had been their partner for long. As per Indigenous Tourism BC, Indigenous businesses develop new opportunities for cultural revitalization in communities and economic development.

The provincial government explained that Indigenous tourism was one of the most rapid growing sectors, generating $705 million as well as creating 7,400 jobs before COVID.

But once the pandemic took hold, 90 per cent of businesses closed or were limited in how much business they could do. Three quarters of the businesses had no other choice but to lay off staff.

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