Products, features and target markets: An inquiry into Aboriginal tourism product preference of visitors to northern British Columbia.

Abstract

Many Aboriginal communities in British Columbia, Canada and worldwide, are on the search for new development opportunities and industries to diversify their economies. Aboriginal tourism is one of these industries, often described as a development opportunity which may promote Aboriginal peoples' cultural revitalization and economic benefits without exploiting their traditional territories. While documentation of demand for Aboriginal tourism experiences in North America exists, visitor product preferences remain largely unknown. However, Aboriginal tourism business entrepreneurs and operators need this information in order to manage for the long-term profitability of their businesses. The study presented in this thesis attempts to provide insight into this topic. Working under the umbrella of a collaborative research effort between Tl'azt'en Nation and the University of Northern British Columbia, I administered a questionnaire containing four hypothetical Aboriginal tourism product descriptions and 31 individual features of Aboriginal tourism products to 337 visitors of northern British Columbia during the summer of 2007. I analyzed the data and established a profile of the travelers and their Aboriginal tourism product preferences. Based upon the identified primary features of Aboriginal tourism products I made several recommendations regarding tourism product development. Following this, I conducted a cluster analysis based on visitors' interest in these particular product features and in an attempt to segment the market for Aboriginal tourism in northern British Columbia. I identified three distinct clusters as the Culture Seekers, the Nature-Culture Observers and the Sightseers. The first two segments appear to hold the strongest potential for rural First Nation communities. In the end, which segment to target and which marketing channels to use will depend on Tl'azt'en and other First Nations' level of comfort in interacting with visitors and how much of their culture they are willing to share with touris