An inquiry into Aboriginal tourism product attributes and their influence on product preference by travelers to Northern BC

Diana Kutzner, MA NRES

The focus of my research is tourists' interest in tourism provided by First Nations communities in Northern British Columbia. Specifically, my research focuses on identifying Indigenous tourism markets for Northern BC as well as product preferences of visitors to this region. During spring 2007, I interviewed several members of the Indigenous tourism industry of Northern BC to determine the key characteristics of a successful tourism venture in the northern parts of this province. After completing these interviews, I created a questionnaire to find out from tourists coming to Northern BC what their key interests regarding Indigenous tourism were. Using this questionnaire, I conducted approximately 300 surveys from June until mid-September (2007) with tourists coming through the city of Prince George, BC. Following survey collection, I entered my data for statistical analysis and am now working on the analysis of my data.

Research Products:

Publications:

Kutzner, D., Wright, P.A., Stark, A. 2009. Identifying tourists' preferences for Aboriginal tourism product features: implications for a northern First Nation in British Columbia. Journal of Ecotourism, 8: 99-114.

Presentations:

• Thesis Defense presentation, March 2009

Posters:

• Demand for Aboriginal Tourism Products in Northern B.C., May 2008

Reports: