Travel Guides to Canada

2017 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA

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Tribal interests nationwide are estab- lishing a rich menu of unique activities for even the most travelled clients. First Nations travel and tourism products and services off er lasting memories steeped in the dynamic cultures of the most ancient people of Canada. Timing is paramount for meaningful success in the volatile tourism industry, and it appears Aboriginal tourism is blessed in this regard, heading for a record year of fortuitous happenings coast-to-coast-to- coast. Following the dramatic Parks Canada discoveries of the long-lost Franklin ships, Erebus and Terror, over the last two years, interest in the North is ever more robust. The 2015 federal election in Canada also refl ects a newly-charged national Aboriginal consciousness with the election of ten First Nations Members of Parliament, a fi rst in the history of the country. WEST The Crossing at Ghost River is an enchant- ed overnight Aboriginal adventure in the Alberta foothills between Calgary and Banff . Guides lead visitors on a journey spanning notions of time and culture, highlighted by traditional drumming and unique story- telling, walking through captivating landscapes to learn about the healing plants growing underfoot, and watching authentic Aboriginal cuisine being made. Choose to stay in their comfortable lodge for one or two nights, set on 145 picturesque acres, or book your corporate retreat and mix business with pleasure Rockies-style ( www.crossingexperience.ca). Spirit Bear Lodge, in British Columbia's tiny central coast community of Klemtu, is 150 nautical miles by fl oat plane from Vancouver Island's northern-most town of Port Hardy. Protected from the Pacifi c Ocean tumult by the largest intact coastal temper- ate rainforest on the planet, travellers make the eff ort to view one of our world's great natural mysteries—the kermode or "spirit bear." A visit here also allows you to encoun- ter orca whales, grizzly bears, eagles, ravens and a host of other inhabitants of this remarkable locale ( www.spiritbear.com ). CENTRAL The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2014, and has already won dozens of awards, including the National Cultural Like ceremonial smoke wafting across sacred lands, Aboriginal tourism is quietly evolving throughout Canada's provinces and territories, and attracting vigourous international tourism eff orts into Canada. According to the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada (ATAC) and Destination Canada, this market sector is becoming a powerful and compelling option for foreign travellers, as well as homegrown vacationers, seeking viable opportunities for their dollar. ABORIGINAL TOURISM LEADS INTERNATIONAL VISITS BY GREGORY B. GALLAGHER CALGARY STAMPEDE PARADE, AB • SHUTTERSTOCK 46

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