June 2020 – International Institute of Tourism Studies

Across the world, COVID has been taking a devastating toll on both the tourism industry and Indigenous communities. First Nations groups like the Heiltsuk of British Colombia—along with many Indigenous tribes—are enforcing strict lockdown measures in an attempt to keep their people safe from the virus. A recent BBC story quoted Marilyn Slett, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council: “Our laws and traditions are oral. They’re passed down by our Knowledge Keepers, a group of Elders who have learned the Nation’s customs, traditions and protocols. We only have 30 fluent Hailhzaqvla-speaking Elders left. We’ll uphold Heiltsuk laws and do everything we can to protect them.”

The Heiltsuk are not alone in their determination to do what they can to keep their traditions and people alive. What does COVID mean for tribes who’ve been generating income by hosting visitors?

On April 29^th, the Organization of American States and the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies in collaboration with the US Bureau of Indian Affairs held a webinar to discuss the issue. Keith Henry, President and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada; Magi Williams, Public Relations Director for Wind Creek Hospitality; and Alfreida Littleboy, owner of Native Grill Navajo Soul Food shared their insights.

Financially, the impact of COVID-10 on Indigenous communities and tourism in Canada has been devastating. As Henry pointed out, 40,000 jobs and roughly $900 million GDP were lost in March alone. He has been advocating for Indigenous-led financial solutions as many of the stimulus funding options currently offered are not available to Indigenous tourism business owners. In April, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada announced that the federal government would be committing $306.8 million dollars in stimulus funding to support the 6000 small-medium Indigenous businesses across the country. Of these, more than 30 percent, or 1875, are Indigenous tourism businesses.

In the US, with the closing of tribal casinos, tribal revenue has been severely impacted—not only for the tribes themselves and the individual members who’ve lost their jobs at the casinos but for the people who own and work for nearby businesses, including restaurants, spas and hotels, which have also been closed. While the US government authorized $8 billion for tribes in March, when the casinos closed, it’s been slow to distribute the money.

Alfreida Littleboy, a member of the Navajo Nation who owns a food truck in Cameron, Arizona, described the challenges her community is facing, particularly due to a lack of infrastructure, access to medical care and the long distances tribal members need to travel to get even basic supplies. Because the Navajo lack running water and electricity, many people including tribal Elders, often live 30 miles from the nearest water sources. And because only 17 grocery stores serve the entire Navajo Nation, tribal members have been coming into contact with sick people on their way to get food and water. According to a recent article on the NPR website, if the Navajo Nation were a state, it would have the highest rate of coronavirus cases per capita after New York. Planeterra, the foundation arm of the travel company G Adventures, in partnership with local business owner Alfreida Littleboy, has been fundraising to provide the Navajo with supplies.

The webinar group agreed that good communications and networking are key to coping with the very difficult situation now and to recovery planning. Magi Williams of Wind Creek Hospitality, which manages casinos and racetracks for Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians—the only federally recognized Indian tribe in the state of Alabama—described how her office has been proactively keeping in touch with guests through direct outreach and by sharing information on a regularly updated website. The key is to keep guests connected and relationships alive.

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada has also been focused on communications and networking, which as Keith Henry stressed are vital to making tourism work as a tool for cultural revitalization and to driving sustainable economic development.

A recording of the webinar and additional resources referenced in the webinar are available here.

If you would like to join us in our support of Alfreida Littleboy’s work with Planeterra Foundation and the local area’s Chapter House to increase access to locally-sourced sanitizers and cleaners, as well as basics such as food, in the Navajo Nation, please click here.

To continue the discussion, please join our Facebook Group.

We look forward to seeing you in June for our next webinar, which will focus on Indigenous tourism in Latin America; stay tuned for details.

Of all the industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism has been most devastated. Because one in ten jobs globally is tourism-dependent, the industry’s collapse is profoundly impacting communities and economies everywhere. In fact, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that the crisis will cost 100 million tourism jobs worldwide.

What’s the key to rebuilding, once travelers feel safe enough to take to the skies, roads and rails again? As International Institute of Tourism Studies Executive Director Seleni Matus explains, “An intentional and sustainable future is critical now more than ever. We need to ensure that people living in travel destinations—whether they’re coastal, rural or urban— benefit financially from visitors and that they have the incentive to conserve their environmental and cultural resources for now and the future.”

For thirty years, George Washington University’s International Institute for Tourism Studies has been working with destination stakeholders—including tourism managers, business owners, policy makers and local community members—to guide the sustainable development of tourism generally. As part of this work, the institute has partnered with the Adventure Travel and Tourism Association to produce the Adventure Tourism Destination Index (ATDI), which ranks destinations according to criteria including health care, protected areas and environmental performance. These key indicators help to determine how ready a destination is to host visitors seeking adventure experiences.

While the index is designed as a tool for anyone working in tourism development, it’s particularly relevant for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). As Matus notes, “Given current needs and realities, the newly released ATDI 2020 is particularly timely and important for adventure destinations preparing for the arrival of post-pandemic visitors.”

This year’s winners for destination competitiveness: Iceland and the Czech Republic remained in the lead, and Iceland held the distinction of first place for the third year in a row.

In addition to the ADTI, the International Institute of Tourism Studies partnered with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council to produce the Global Destination Sustainability Report—a companion to the ADTI— with a specific focus on 24 destinations ranked on criteria such as waste management, wildlife protection and the preservation of cultural heritage, for example. While the GSTC report is not adventure destination specific, it may be used by any destination manager seeking insights into sustainable management, which basically leads to a balance between the short-term benefits and the long-term interests of local communities.

Over the past few years, destination managers, business owners and policy-makers have had to contend with an additional reality, if they are to remain competitive in the marketplace. That is their ability to adapt to climate change. As the GSTC report concludes, destinations everywhere need to put in place a plan to address the impact of more frequent and intense weather-related events, water shortages and carbon emissions, for example.

While during the year leading up to the pandemic destinations were focused on managing for overtourism—or the unsustainable influx of visitors—those same destinations must continue to manage strategically and intelligently, no matter how many visitors they’re currently hosting, so that they remain competitive in the marketplace. As Matus stresses, “Only destinations that are healthy and have a solid sustainable management plan in place are likely to remain viable over the long term.”

Month: June 2020

INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON TOURISM ARE FINDING WAYS TO COPE WITH COVID

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES PARTNERS ON TWO REPORTS CRITICAL TO HELPING DESTINATIONS REASSESS AND REBUILD POST-PANDEMIC