Indigenous tourism is inclusive tourism
It shouldn’t be hard for tourists to find out about the Indigenous people and cultural heritage of a destination, and yet in so many cases, they are not jumping out of national or regional tourism websites. There may be many reasons for this. The most optimistic one is that Indigenous communities may not want tourism and, if that is the case, then that must always be respected. A more pessimistic view might be that these communities are simply being ignored and left to their own devices, perhaps because they aren’t represented on the necessary boards or steering committee and so their voices aren’t being heard.
Photo by Tatiana Zanon
If Indigenous communities are keen to benefit economically from tourism while also sharing their cultural heritage with visitors, then tourist boards and other tourism providers have an obligation to feature them. Inclusive tourism means including all people and also putting them center stage in your content, not just in one token blog, which tourists will have difficulty finding without deep diving into a website. For example, you can’t sell Morocco without informing people about Berber culture, nor ignore the Sámi people when promoting Norway, Sweden and Finland. And yet, they aren’t always in the top ten of travel content.
It is often the case that Indigenous communities don’t have the marketing budgets or experience to create high-quality content of their own. The stories of Indigenous communities are important to tell, and destination marketing organizations can and should support them. Their stories are also invaluable in terms of content and (if you even need a business case for creating Indigenous tourism content) it has been proven that storytelling sells. Below are just a few examples of Indigenous communities that engage with tourism. We have had the honor and delight in filming some of these people, producing content that has generated high ROI both economically and educationally. The most important ROI when it comes to Indigenous communities, however, is an ethical one.
The Maasai, Kenya
In our film “Joseph Ole Koyie”, part of the ‘120 seconds to change the world’ series, Joseph tells us why he changed from being a Maasai warrior to Maasai wildlife guide in Kenya’s Masai Mara. Although a short film, it is very engaging and provides real insight into both the natural and cultural heritage of the Masai Mara. This film was made in partnership with Abercrombie & Kent, a leading luxury tour operator which put sustainability at the heart of its mission statement long before many others were talking about it.
Sustainability in travel content sometimes suffers because tourism stakeholders are concerned that the stories are going to be dull or downbeat. However, as you can see from this film, you don’t need a lecture in sustainable or responsible tourism when you watch Joseph’s story. You just need to listen to his words and know that he, as a Maasai, fundamentally understands what it’s all about.
“I think every guide has a responsibility - to be an ambassador, to conservation and to the community,” Joseph Ole Koyie. Maasai wildlife guide, Kenya’s Masai Mara.
Photo credit: ©Catherine Mack
Seneca People, Ganondagan, New York State
Ganondagan is the only New York State Historic Site dedicated to a Native American theme, and an impressive one too, representing the heritage and lifestyles of Seneca Indians. It is a place with a mission that stretches way beyond a ‘folk’ or ‘historic’ center. In contrast, it represents the Seneca people’s living culture, with ethno-botanical walking trails, explanations of the matriarchal society, the reintroduction of traditional Iroquois white corn and a stunning elm bark longhouse – all symbols of their Seventh Generation philosophy in life. There are so many stories to be told here and some are featured on Finger Lakes, New York State and of course the National Parks website.
Niuean people, Niue Island
The fact that Niue Island, located 2,400km (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand, has become the world’s first ‘Dark Sky Nation’ is thanks to its Indigenous community. For Niueans, the tradition of using the stars and lunar cycles for navigation, storytelling and light source goes back to ancient times. The knowledge of constellations, night skies and nocturnal biodiversity has always been held in esteem by community elders, and this new form of night sky tourism is one way in which they can pass these traditions down to younger generations. The Niuean culture also features prominently on the tourism website, however, it is this connection with the night skies that we had the honor of creating video content about.
“As a small Pacific island, Niueans migrated and found this little rock in the middle of the ocean, by journeying from the stars. So essentially the stars were our map and GPS. This was thousands of years ago and that is still intrinsically part of the way we manage our natural resources. We still depend very heavily on the sky, the stars and the moon cycles for our hunting - for our conservation methods. The Dark Sky is really quite a special thing to share.”
- Coral Pasisi, President Tofia Niue
Sámi people
The total population of Sámi in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia is approximately 80,000, and about half of them live in Norway. Sámi culture is rarely at the forefront of national tourism content, more in the background, despite the fact that their stories and heritage are ones that tourists are keen to learn from and engage with. Visit Norway does, however, have a beautiful video of Sámi people and community tourism linked on their homepage. There have been issues over the years over Sámi culture being commoditized for tourism, resulting in a perception of the Sámi people by visitors being different from reality. For example, many visitors know about the traditions of reindeer herding and may include this activity on one of their holidays. However, in reality, only 10 percent of Sámi belong to active reindeer herding collectives (known as sameby).
Some Sámi communities feel that although their historical heritage is great for tourism PR, prejudice towards their community in their own lands is still prevalent. However, this is where quality, community-based content comes into play, as it needs to be storyboarded sensitively and respectfully. Connecting with nature is inherent to the Sámi culture, and guiding has become an important source of tourism income for Sámi people. So let the Sámi people guide you in your tourism content too. Tourists may want to see Sámi people in traditional costume, but given that most Sámi don’t wear it anymore, they are unlikely to want to be filmed in it. Culture changes, and good authentic content will capture that.
Mexico’s indigenous peoples
After the last few years of racist and irresponsible rhetoric about Mexican people from the US Trump administration, the least we can do as visitors to this magnificent country is learn about the many different Indigenous groups that live here. By creating educational and empathetic content, travelers can revel in the rich history that emanates from the sixty different Indigenous groups in Mexico. The most prolific are Nahua, Yucatec (Maya), Zapotec and Mixtec. For most Indigenous peoples nature, earth and landscape are the pillars of their belief systems, and being stewards of the earth is a responsibility they take seriously, something from which we can communicate in high-quality content.
However, the current focus in Mexico’s tourism marketing is much more on place than on people and we would love to hear more about the Mayan and Mixtec’s memoirs, or learn from the Nahuas’ narratives. Interesting organizations that feature Indigenous community tourism in Mexico include Traditions Mexico and Responsible Travel. Mexico defines itself, in its constitution, as a “pluricultural” nation, so we believe that it’s time to get some pluricultural content out there too.
Photo by Los Muertos Crew from Pexels