An Indigenous-Owned Model for Sustainable Tourism

Stepping off of a small boat and onto the dock at the Klahoose Wilderness Resort ushers visitors into a world of lush green forests and towering mountains. Upon leaving the water’s edge, they’re enveloped by the sounds of the Klahoose First Nation’s traditional drumming songs, featuring backing vocals by nearby ravens and songbirds.

The Indigenous-owned resort is located northwest of the Klahoose First Nation village on Cortes Island, B.C., and lies within the nation’s traditional territory in the Homfray Channel. It’s accessible only by water or seaplane and is a roughly 60-minute boat ride north of Lund, B.C.

Chris Tait, tourism manager at Klahoose Wilderness Resort, said the goal is to invest in tourism as a means for the Klahoose First Nation to take on a greater role in managing their territory and protecting the environment. By offering experience-based tourism, he said, the resort attracts guests who are seeking meaningful experiences — and can afford to travel to find them.

Built in 2008, the site was originally called the Homfray Lodge, before it was shut down and sold in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel. A year later, it reopened as the Klahoose Wilderness Resort and now has a workforce of 18 people — about 70 per cent of whom are Indigenous from Klahoose or neighbouring First Nations.

“The resort was reimagined as a destination focused on ecotourism and Indigenous tourism, rather than traditional activity-based tourism like fishing or boating,” Tait said.

Guests of the resort get to choose between two curated experience packages: Discover Klahoose or Grizzly Bears of Toba Inlet.

Discover Klahoose is a three-to-four-night experience with prices starting at $2,895 per person. It includes tours of the rugged coastal landscape, as well as whale, bird and bear watching. Meals are included and emphasize local ingredients, such as fresh seafood and wild mushrooms. Guests are also invited to partake in cultural activities such as drumming, singing, cedar weaving and canoeing.

The Grizzly Bears of Toba Inlet package offers a similar three-to-four-night stay but starts at $3,495. Days 2 and 3 of this experience are spent grizzly bear touring.

To cap it all off, both packages include access to a wood-fired sauna, a dock for swimming and paddle boards, as well as a boat transfer from Lund.

Tours of Klahoose territory are part of the resort’s offerings and are led in a manner to minimize impacts on local wildlife, Tait said.

For example, during the resort’s whale watching tours, boats and tour groups are kept at a safe distance from the marine mammals. Tait added the resort is a member of the North Island Marine Mammals Stewardship Association, a non-profit that works to protect marine life and ecotourism around northern Vancouver Island.

During the resort’s grizzly bear tours, Tait said, guests observe the animals from viewing towers set up along the Toba Inlet, where the grizzlies congregate to hunt for salmon.

“We're not just going into the forest and stumbling upon bears; we're actually going to watch bears while they're eating salmon in their natural habitat,” he said.

In 2023, the Klahoose Wilderness Resort received a silver certification from sustainable tourism organization GreenStep, in recognition of its efforts to conserve and protect the environment through its operations.

While the recognition is nice, Tait said, the resort still has a lot to accomplish in terms of becoming fully sustainable.

“It's about progress, not perfection, and we are dedicated to moving sustainability forward,” he said.

A people-forward approach

Klemkwateki Randy Louie, a member of the Klahoose and Malahat nations, started working as a cultural interpreter at the resort four years ago and called the role a “paradise job.”

His day’s work ranges from greeting visitors to sharing stories or songs to guiding tours through the nation’s territory.

“I get to socialize with guests, talking about the history and stories, or teach them about the Coast Salish ways. It feels like a dream,” Klemkwateki said.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to speak on behalf of my family, of Klahoose. I told my family that, and they kind of bumped me into tourism and gave me this job here.”

Previously, Klemkwateki was a drummer and singer for 35 years with a long house of spiritual dancers for Klahoose, he said. “For 29 years of it, I was learning how to hand down those teachings to the younger generations.”

“It was perfect timing for me to start working here.”

In the future, Tait said, the resort will need even more Elders, youth and other community members to help run it during its increasingly busy operational season from May to October.

“Economic reconciliation means hiring local staff, as many as we can,” he said.

Currently, September, the resort’s busiest month because it’s the peak of grizzly bear season, is fully booked as early as July.

When it comes to running a sustainable tourism business, Tait said, there’s more to it than just measuring your carbon footprint.

“It’s also about people. And making sure that when we do a tour, it's guided by a local person. Ideally, a Klahoose person,” he said. “Versus people coming up with their own boat, or a company coming in and not even knowing whose territory they're coming into.”

An industry-wide shift

Across B.C., a number of experiences similar to the Klahoose resort’s can be found, such as Homalco Wildlife and Cultural Tours, an Indigenous-owned tourism company located only a few islands away.

While Klahoose includes an optional $10 fee for guests to contribute to the Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund, Homalco donates a portion of the cost of its tours towards animal conservation.

Klahoose’s centring of culture is also catching on with other Indigenous-owned tourism businesses. Tait said he has spoken to a number of lodges that are trying to transition away from a focus on a specific activity, such as fishing or skiing, and towards Indigenous culture sharing.

“If you are a fishing lodge, you can start adding in some cultural experiences, such as a traditional salmon bake on the beach, as opposed to having a regular salmon on a barbecue,” he said.

Wherever this change is happening, Tait said, it’s important that it’s led by Indigenous staff.

“People want to learn about other people, and having that human connection makes any travel experience meaningful,” Tait said.

Standing on the dock at the Klahoose Wilderness Resort, small talk between guests and staff indicates another trip has come to an end. After the final song and some traditional cedar brushing, the resort’s cultural interpreters wish guests a final farewell as their boat begins its familiar journey back to Lund.

Klemkwateki said that at the end of a trip, it’s not uncommon for his drumming to provoke a few teary eyes in guests.

“Through all of the stories they get, it makes them feel like they're part of a family when they're here. And then we send them off back home,” he said.

[Editor’s note: This article runs in a new section of The Tyee called ‘What Works: The Business of a Healthy Bioregion,’ where you’ll find profiles of people creating the low-carbon, regenerative economy we need from Alaska to central California. Find out more about this project and its funders, Magic Canoe and the Salmon Nation Trust.]