YVR, ITBC Team Up On Initiative
Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) and YVR have announced the award of Indigenous Tourism Training Grants to two YVR partners, Salmon ‘n’ Bannock On The Fly and Musqueam Art Store.
The announcement comes during National Indigenous Peoples Month – a time to celebrate all Indigenous peoples, including Musqueam, on whose territory the Vancouver International Airport sits.
Through these grants, Indigenous Tourism BC will support coordinating and delivering a suite of 11 industry-standard tourism training courses. The two programs will help a minimum of 14 Indigenous students each and cover all training costs, including living allowance.
The programs are customized to the needs of the two grant recipients and funded by the Province of BC as part of the Indigenous Labour Training Program.
The first Indigenous Tourism Training Grant is awarded to Musqueam Employment and Training to provide merchandising and marketing training for artisans, frontline and super host training for Musqueam Art Store retail clerks at YVR.
The second Indigenous Tourism Training Grant is awarded to the new Salmon ’n’ Bannock On the Fly at YVR. This grant will provide industry-standard education for the new kitchen and front-of-house teams in preparation for the July 2022 opening of the restaurant’s second location.
In 2021, Indigenous Tourism BC and Vancouver Airport Authority signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their working relationship, with a shared vision to support a sustainable Indigenous tourism economy and the economic recovery of BC after COVID-19.
“Indigenous Tourism BC is honoured to support YVR’s commitment to Musqueam Indian Band and sustainable Indigenous-owned businesses, with education-to-employment opportunities that observe Indigenous protocols. We celebrate our relationships with YVR and Musqueam,” says Brenda Baptiste, Chair of Indigenous Tourism BC.
This year, National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 marked the fifth anniversary of the Sustainability and Friendship Agreement between YVR and Musqueam. The first-of-its-kind agreement acknowledges YVR’s responsibility to the Musqueam community and commitment to creating education-to-employment opportunities.
“As proud partners of Indigenous Tourism BC, we applaud their work to support British Columbia’s rich and diverse Indigenous tourism industry. These tourism training grants for two important businesses at YVR will lead to education and employment opportunities for Musqueam with the potential for continued learning and growth at the airport. As we reflect on the five-year anniversary of our Sustainability and Friendship Agreement with Musqueam, we are honoured and privileged to be part of the continued work and benefits that come from our shared partnership,” said Tamara Vrooman, President & CEO of Vancouver Airport Authority.
