Understanding sustainable tourism: A comparative analysis between the Indigenous tourism industry and the broader tourism sector in British Columbia

Tourism is one of the most dynamic businesses in the world. It is of great importance to intentionally and effectively plan and develop tourism sustainably by finding compromises between the economic, environmental and social priorities of communities affected by the sector. Indigenous tourism in British Columbia, Canada is one of the most rapidly growing industries in the local tourism economy. Yet little is known about how sustainable tourism is defined by Indigenous tourism stakeholders and whether it is properly addressed by regional and provincial tourism strategic policy and/or planning frameworks. This research aimed to tackle this knowledge gap by adopting a document analysis approach which identified common themes in the Indigenous Tourism of British Columbia's corporate strategies with the Government of British Columbia and Destination British Columbia's provincial tourism policy frameworks and regional destination development strategies. The research discovered that all strategies consist of similar priorities across the three dimensions of sustainable tourism, though the economic dimension takes precedence over the environmental and social dimensions. Above all, achieving sustainable tourism requires actively engaging and participating in reconciliatory efforts with Indigenous Peoples.