Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC)

The Northern Tourism Recovery Incubator developed by ITAC was created to support SMEs in Northern communities to strengthen their business, rebuild Indigenous tourism operators and re-train staff members to support visitors and public health expectations as the tourism industry recovers.

The needs of these businesses were assessed through a national accreditation program (Project Rise) which provided individual business assessments and aggregated data for ongoing support. By working with the Indigenous provincial and territorial partners, ITAC supported the effective delivery of regionally specific support to revitalize operators ahead of the 2023 operating season. Regional needs were considered as businesses reported through the accreditation program, recognizing that the gaps in one part of the country may not be the same as another. This coordinated effort aimed to increase tourism revenues and jobs by increasing Indigenous tourism products to meet visitor demands.

Aerial view of the airport. Airplane taxiing to runway.

Featured Projects

Medical team in discussion, brainstorming and planning.
Project

Leveraging A Physician-Driven Response to Medical Communication Skills Development for Newcomer Physicians

The HELP program (Health English Language Pro) was developed to address some of these barriers through a peer-to-peer partnership model between volunteer and newcomer physicians. The program focused on improving English medical communication, understanding of the Canadian healthcare system, professional confidence, and social capital.
A group of students sitting outside on university campus.
Project

Building Capacity and Skills to Survive Shock for Current and Future Not-for-Profit Managers: A New Approach

This project aimed to develop and test a new skills training model that bridged the academic and not-for-profit sectors. The experiential learning course called “Innovation for Social Impact” was developed and launched to achieve this goal.
Group of people sitting in row in front of speaker and clapping hands
Research

DiversityLeads: Barriers and Enablers to Advancement for Equity-Deserving Groups

This report identifies significant barriers that hinder career advancement and enablers that allow leaders from equity-deserving groups to succeed. It is important to track progress because what gets measured gets done, especially at a time when Canada’s workers are aging and immigration levels are lowering, leaving a widening skills and talent gap for employers.
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