Photo: As part of Intrepid Travel’s Grand Canadian Rockies itinerary, Talaysay Tours has exclusively created, and will lead, We Are the Land. The experience is a 120-minute guided trail walk at Lost Lake in Whistler, which includes a tea ceremony and time at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
By Ina Pace
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Squamish Chief
The Squamish and Lil’wat Nations will have more opportunities to share their cultures on their land with tourists, from October 2027.
A new Indigenous-led tour is coming to Whistler next October, supported by a global partnership.
Vancouver-based Indigenous tourism company Talaysay Tours, who offer land-based experiences, will be supported by global travel company Intrepid Travel.
As part of Intrepid’s Grand Canadian Rockies itinerary, Talaysay has exclusively created, and will lead, We Are the Land. The experience is a 120-minute guided trail walk at Lost Lake in Whistler, which includes a tea ceremony and time at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
Other Talaysay experiences currently held at Lost Lake include Forest Therapy (Bathing) and Talking Trees, which focus respectively on sensory experience and ethnobotany.
The Intrepid release states that We Are the Land will be a combination of Indigenous storytelling, cultural ecology, land stewardship and salmon knowledge.
Intrepid’s vice president of global communications Mikey Sadowski explained that holding Indigenous-led experiences enables Indigenous people “agency” over their stories, and to have “a seat at the table.”
“We really wanted to make sure every traveller who visited Canada with Intrepid left with a deeper understanding and connection to Indigenous culture,” he said.
“Tourism has the ability to be a very powerful and important form of reconciliation … Reconciliation through tourism is essentially turning travel into a platform for truth telling, cultural celebration, and empowerment.”
The global company signed a five year partnership worth $500,000 in January with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) to promote the growth and development of Indigenous tourism across Canada. In joining Taylaysay, Intrepid’s Indigenous-led experiences will increase to 75% for all 2027 Canadian trips. The company’s ultimate goal, the release continues, is 100%.
According to Sadowski, around half of the $500,000 will go directly to the Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund, and the other half into online marketing (creating awareness about which Indigenous tourism experiences are available).
Intrepid are spurred by a survey conducted last month (in both English and French) by polling provider Angus Reid.
The survey results suggest that accessibility to Indigenous tourism is disproportionately limited considering levels of interest, particularly in B.C.
According to the poll, 57% of Canadians are interested in participating in an Indigenous-led tourism experience the next time they travel within Canada, yet fewer than 18% have ever done so. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (63%) say they do not know enough about Indigenous tourism to know where to begin, and more than half (54%) are not confident they know how to find and choose an experience.
The survey was a sample of 1,507 online Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
47% of the respondents interested in participating in Indigenous-led tourism were from B.C., Sadowski confirmed.
“Indigenous tourism in B.C. is more commonplace as part of the identity of British Columbia … B.C. is much more diversified in terms of the outdoors,” he said.
“We need more Canadians to tour their own backyard, to have a deeper understanding of the destinations.”
In the release, Talaysay Tours co-owner Talaysay Campo described the land in Whistler as “everything” to do with Indigenous culture, identity and history.
“I’m honoured to share these teachings through Talaysay Tours … travellers will walk the land with us, and learn about living relationships that have connected our people to these mountains since time immemorial,” Campo’s statement reads.
Departures for Intrepid’s tour including We Are the Land will begin next summer, according to Sadowski, whilst Talaysay Tours run experiences year round, and offer a good “starting point.”
Intrepid opened an office in Squamish in June.
Ina Pace is The Squamish Chief’s Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) reporter.
This reporting was produced through the LJI, which supports original civic journalism across Canada.