National group encourages growth in aboriginal tourism on P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s Mi'kmaq community should look at growing aboriginal tourism on the Island with the help of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada, says the group's interim board member for the province.

Charlie Sarksaid it's the perfect time, giventhe association has just released a new five-year strategic plan which aims to increaseaboriginal tourism across the country. One of the association's top three targets is tosee 50 new aboriginal tourism operators establishedby 2021.

Sark believes P.E.I. could conceivably be home to at least threeto fiveof these new businesses, which could be marketed nationally and internationally to tourists. He alreadyknows of a number of IslandMi'kmaqinterested in offering authentic aboriginal experiences.

"There's a huge interest in the culinary aspect of this. There's a huge interest in the artisan way of doing demonstrations for baskets, for quills, and for other arts, drum making."

Experiential tourism key to growth

According to the association's strategic plan, AtlanticCanada has the smallest number of the country's aboriginal tourism businesses, at only nine per cent another reason Sarkbelieves there is ample room for growth.

"I don't think we've done agood enough job selling ourselves as the other regions have," said Sark.

The Island currently only has one aboriginal tourism business listed on the association's membership directory. The IndianArts and Crafts shop at Lennox Islandwas started bySark'suncle, Ray Sark,45 years ago, and now is runby his mother, Doreen Sark.

Charlie Sark said this retail businesscontinues to draw tourists up to western P.E.I., but he believes experiential tourism should be the next phase of development.

"Most people have in their head, when they think of aboriginal tourism, they think of an experience. They think of immersion in a cultural event, or an experience they can have on the land, on the water."

Infrastructure already there to build off

Larger developments, like the naturetrails and the cultural centre in Lennox, are already thereto build on. These were developed more than 10 years ago when Lennoxlaunched an ecotourismproject.

Sark said that venture wasn't the success the community hoped for, but lessons from that canhelp guidethefuture.He doesthink trying to grow the ecotourisminitiativetoo quicklymaybe been a factor, which is why he's calling for a cautious approach with any new developments.

"Let's build this slowly and make sure we're in the right direction, because it's really hard to recover if we don't do it right."

Some of that planning begins Mondaynight at a Mi'kmaq feast Sark is organizing with some of the members of the community interested in establishing tourism businesses, community leaders, elders and the head of the CEO of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada,who is on the Island.