Tangible and intangible indicators of successful aboriginal tourism initiatives: A case study of two successful aboriginal tourism lodges in Northern Canada

Published Date
Tourism Management
April 2015, Vol.47:318–328, doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2014.10.011

Author 

• Raynald Harvey Lemelin ^,
• Rhonda Koster 
• Nicholina Youroukos 

• Lakehead University, Canada

Received 31 March 2014. Accepted 14 October 2014. Available online 7 November 2014. 

Highlights

• An international overview of Aboriginal tourism initiatives and Aboriginal entrepreneurship is provided.
• •
  Two Aboriginal ecolodges located in Northern Canada are compared.
• •
  Indicators of successes and evaluations of success are evaluated.
• •
  Success indicators should capture both tangible and intangible elements of Aboriginal tourism initiatives.
• •
  Lessons acquired from these case studies can be applied to other peripheral regions.

Abstract 

This article examines two successful Aboriginal-tourism initiatives in Northern Canada. First, we review the literature on successful tourism indicators; following this review, we provide a rationale for the development of our own indicators and their subsequent application to our case studies. The case studies include the Cree Village Eco Lodge in Northern Ontario and the Spirit Bear Lodge in British Columbia, Canada. Our framework focuses on both indicators for success and evaluations of success. The discussion and conclusion sections examine the value of developing success indicators that capture both tangible and intangible variables and standardizing case study descriptions. We also highlight how the lessons acquired from these case studies can be applied to Northern Canada specifically and peripheral regions generally.

Keywords

Aboriginal tourism

Entrepreneurship

Ecolodge

---

 Table 1

Table 1.

 Table 2

Table 2.

 Table 3

Table 3.

Fig. 1.

 Table 4

Table 4.

Fig. 2.

 Table 5

Table 5.

 Table 6

Table 6.

Fig. 3.

 Table 7

Table 7.

Vitae

Dr. Raynald Harvey Lemelin is the Research Chair in Parks and Protected Areas and an Associate Professor in the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University. His research interests are parks management, last-chance tourism, aboriginal tourism, and wildlife tourism.

Dr. Rhonda Koster is the Director for the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University. Her research interests are rural tourism.

Nicholina Youroukos is a recent graduate of the MES-Nature-Based Recreation and Tourism Program offered through the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University.

• ∗ 
  Corresponding author. School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada. Tel.: +1 807 343 8745; fax: +1 807 346 7836.

For further details log on website :
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964830516300981