Taiwanese aboriginals learn First Nations tourism

Canada shares lessons on booming Native tourism

By Laurent Vu TheNative dancers wearing colorful masks take the stage here, performing an ancient ritual dance invoking the grizzly bear, a sacred figure for many First Nation peoples in the upper reaches of North America.

The performance is being watched by 15 Taiwanese aboriginals, who have come here to learn the art of creating financially viable native tourism back home.

The Taiwanese visitors are part of a unique exchange program in which they hope to learn from their Canadian hosts about the art and the profit-making potential of aboriginal tourism.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples, a ministry-level body in Taiwan, has sent these young people to learn about aboriginal-run tourism from Canadian indigenous communities to see what aspects of this flourishing trade can be duplicated back home.Comment:  For more on First Nations tourism, see Tsuu T'ina as "Cultureville 2011" and First Nations Cruise in British Columbia.

Below:  "This is the 13th group of exchange students to benefit from the intercultural exchange." (AFP/Laurent Vu The)