New tourism guidebook puts focus on Yukon's Indigenous culture
'There’s a growing demand... for people to learn about and connect with Yukon Indigenous culture'
It's been 17 years since the last tourism guidebook to Yukon First Nations was published, so Charlene Alexander says it was time for a new one.
"There's been tremendous change in the Yukon, for Yukon First Nations, in those years," said Alexander, who is the executive director of the Yukon First Nations Tourism and Culture Association (YFNCT).
"And there's a growing demand across Canada and around the world for people to learn about and connect with Yukon Indigenous cultures."
The colourful, glossy 52-page booklet is meant to give visitors a handy guide to Yukon's 14 First Nations, and how and where in the territory to learn about, and experience, the culture.
"It kind of reviews everything First Nations," says Alexis Hougen, marketing coordinator for the YFNCT. "It kind of summarizes each First Nation, and pulls out what really makes them unique."
The project was largely funded by the territorial and federal governments, Alexander says, and was made in response to "huge demand" for such a guide.
Tourism represents a large and growing source of revenue for the territory. In 2017, there were an estimated 334,000 overnight visits to the territory — a record high.
Tourism represents about four per cent of the territory's GDP, the government says.
The new booklet will be available at visitor centres and cultural centres in Yukon, and online through Travel Yukon.
With files from Sandi Coleman