Travel + Leisure Honours CEO of ITAC for his Work Supporting Indigenous Travel Experiences
Awards spotlight changemakers who are creating sustainable and responsible travel
COAST SALISH TERRITORY (Vancouver, BC) March 24, 2021 - One of the world's most prestigious travel magazines, Travel + Leisure, has named Keith Henry, CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) a Global Vision Awards 2021 winner.
Henry has been recognized in the April issue for his work in raising awareness and developing Indigenous travel experiences, as well as advocating for government support. The Global Vision Awards 2021 recognize 30 individuals, companies and organizations making meaningful strides in responsible travel and sustainable living. To arrive at this years list of honourees, an esteemed panel of experts across the travel, hospitality, and retail industries, as well as the non-profit sector, submitted nominations, which were then narrowed to a select list of finalists vetted by Travel + Leisure editors.
"I'm very humbled to be selected for the Global Vision Awards and need to thank the team, as well as our board of directors at Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada for this award as it would not be possible without them,"said Keith Henry, CEO of ITAC and Global Vision Award Recipient."My hope is this award creates more awareness to our sector thats been devastated, and continues to highlight the importance of creating and supporting Indigenous businesses while continuing our path to resilience towards our post-COVID recovery".
The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards 2021 are featured in the April issue where they include Henry in a feature story that shares stories from seven people making sustainability and social justice a priority. In the feature, writer Jeff Chu shares that Henry also works directly with Indigenous nations, communities, and businesses to refine their offerings and broaden their reach. Chu goes on to share several key initiatives that led to Keiths nomination including ITACs marketing and tourism product development support.Read the full story here.
"The work is not yet finished,"continues Henry."Now more than ever our businesses need the leadership and support to recover from COVID-19 so that when the time is right, our members can welcome back travellers."
For the full Global Vision Awards 2021 report and to learn about each winner, visitwww.travelandleisure.com/global-vision-awards/.
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About the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is the lead organization tasked with growing the Indigenous tourism industry across the country. Inspired by a vision for a thriving Indigenous tourism economy sharing authentic, memorable and enriching experiences, ITAC develops relationships with other groups and regions with similar mandates. By uniting the Indigenous tourism industry in Canada, ITAC works to enable collective support, product development, promotion and marketing of authentic Indigenous cultural tourism businesses in a respectful protocol. Prior to 2020, Indigenous tourism was outpacing Canadian tourism activity overall, and international demand for Indigenous experiences was at an all-time high.Due to COVID-19, ITAC recently releaseda reporton the financial challenges facing Indigenous tourism operators and recommended stimulus solutions.As well, a 2020-2021 revisedaction planfocused on sustaining Indigenous tourism in the face of COVID-19 was released in March.
