Indigenous Tourism Ontario aims to boost northern growth

Indigenous Tourism Ontario’s new strategy promotes northern travel, connecting Indigenous businesses along the Toronto-Sault Ste. Marie corridor.

Indigenous Tourism Ontario has introduced a new strategy focused on expanding the Indigenous tourism industry in northern Ontario. The group’s president and CEO Kevin Eshkawkogan emphasized that Indigenous tourism is among the fastest-growing segments in Ontario’s tourism sector.

“One in three international visitors are interested in Indigenous tourism experiences when travelling to Canada,” he said. “As we found after the pandemic, now, one in three domestic travelers are interested in participating in Indigenous tourism experiences in Canada and specifically in Ontario.”

Growing interest in Indigenous experiences

Eshkawkogan attributed the rising interest to several factors, including a desire among travelers to engage with Canada’s authentic history.

“With an influx of new visitors coming to Canada, they’re interested in the true history of this country,” he said. “To top that off, we’re in the era of Truth and Reconciliation. And a lot of people want to know a different perspective.”

On Manitoulin Island, Luke Wassegijig, tourism manager for the Wikwemikong Development Commission and Wikwemikong Tourism, reported a strong season so far.

“You’re seeing a lot more domestic travelers, you know, from the province, making their way up – a lot of visitors from the Greater Toronto Area,” he said. “There’s a lot of Europeans back on the island, so, you know, it’s kind of a normal year, kind of, where we were in 2019.”

Indigenous tourism corridor strategy unveiled

At the beginning of July, Indigenous Tourism Ontario launched the Indigenous Tourism Corridor Strategy for northern Ontario with support from Destination Ontario and FedNor. The initiative aims to create curated travel itineraries featuring Indigenous businesses along the Toronto-to-Sault Ste. Marie corridor, including Manitoulin Island, to attract more tourists while supporting local enterprises.

“Our role is simply to improve the socioeconomic conditions of Indigenous people through the use of tourism,” said Eshkawkogan. “We do that by supporting businesses and entrepreneurs and communities, to get involved by telling their story on their terms.”

Still in its early stages, the project will engage with First Nations communities along the route to identify businesses interested in being included in the itineraries. The finalized travel plans will be revealed during a trade show in Toronto in May 2026.

Bridging gaps in Indigenous tourism

Wassegijig confirmed that Wikwemikong Tourism will participate in the strategy, noting its potential to strengthen connections across Indigenous tourism businesses in Ontario.

“We really [saw] a gap in terms of other communities and connecting other communities, in other corridors or other Indigenous tourism businesses in Ontario,” he said. “So this is going to be a great way for Indigenous tourism to really connect to those communities and connect those businesses in Ontario.”

Wikwemikong preparing for annual arts and music festival

Meanwhile, Wikwemikong is gearing up for its annual Arts and Music Festival this weekend, featuring music, food, entertainment, and a powwow. Eshkawkogan highlighted the youth Masterchef competition as a key attraction.

“It’s strictly focused on youth chefs this year, and it’s about growing that capacity in the community and in the sector so that the future generation of chefs – Indigenous chefs – are at the forefront of everything that we’re doing on the culinary side of the business,” he said.

The festival events begin at 3 p.m. on Friday.