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

Research

Finding value: identifying and assessing social and emotional skills in the tourism and hospitality industry

This impact paper identifies the value of a focus on social and emotional skills (SES) recognition for employees and employers and examines assessment frameworks, approaches, and platforms that can support SES credentialing in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Two energy workers handling large machinery
Project

Skills Match — The Energy Fit

The Skills Match—The Energy Fit project had the broad goal of addressing the skills gap in Canada’s energy industry by using innovative tools, namely virtual reality (VR) technology and an interactive website, to facilitate career transitions.
Aerial view of Downtown Vancouver
Research

EDI Best Practices for Municipalitiesexternal link icon

The Diversity Institute, the City of Kingston, and the Future Skills Centre, partnered to collect and share Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation (EDIR) practices from municipalities across Canada to develop a searchable database of EDIR resources. Currently, there are 260 best practices available through the tool.
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