Tourism Hamilton Indigenous Tourism Development Strategy

CES had the privilege of working with Tourism Hamilton to help establish their vision for vibrant Indigenous tourism hubs within the city. Working alongside the city, its Indigenous Relations Team and with guidance from the Indigenous Advisory Team, a clear strategy was developed to foster Indigenous tourism by fully honouring and integrating Indigenous perspectives and practices into Hamilton’s tourism landscape. By acknowledging and respecting where Hamilton is currently at, this pursuit of Indigenous tourism contributes to the truth aspect of the city’s truth and reconciliation journey.

The community was placed at the forefront of this project though meaningful engagement, from which the findings set the foundation for the strategy. A visitor market analysis provided industry insights to situate Hamilton within the Indigenous tourism sector, outlining opportunities and strategic recommendations. The strategy also outlined the essential steps for creating vibrant Indigenous tourism hubs by means of establishing demand generators such as festivals and events, Indigenous wayfinding and storytelling experiences, art installations, guided land-based urban cultural workshops, and more. This strategy took Hamilton’s vision to action by providing strategic recommendations for implementation in sync with a financial action plan.