The World Indigenous Tourism Alliance (WINTA) and Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia (AtBC) will host the second Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference (PAITC) in Vancouver, British Columbia from 12 to 14 September 2015. The inaugural PAITC was held in Darwin, Australia in 2012.
“We are naturally excited that Indigenous tourism will be delivering the PAITC 2015 and with the close support of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and other tourism industry partners”, said WINTA Chairman Ben Sherman.
“The delivery of the conference in Vancouver is a welcomed opportunity to provide international focus on Aboriginal tourism in Canada,” said AtBC Chairperson Brenda Baptiste.
The PAITC 2012 in Darwin was responsible for promulgating the Larrakia Declaration, a tourism industry response to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Larrakia Declaration has been endorsed by PATA and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The PAITC 2015 will focus on the positive implementation of the principles of Indigenous rights set forth in the Larrakia Declaration, and is expected bring together an impressive line-up of Indigenous, State, tourism industry and civil service leaders with an interest in Indigenous tourism.