Indigenous tourism goes deeper than 'dinner and a show'

For visitors to New Zealand there is the chance to… hakathe ceremonial Maori dance, was a long time ago as much part of the country's allure as the glaciers, geysers and glowworm caves.

But instead of just catching a cultural performance on the way to New Zealand's Fiordland, travelers are increasingly staying longer and going deeper, looking for more immersive ways to connect with the country's indigenous heritage .

“We're seeing a shift from the checkbox mentality to a hunger for deep, transformative experiences,” said Sarah Handley, managing director for North America and Europe at Tourism New Zealand, the country's tourism marketing agency. “It's not just about attending a haka; it's about understanding the meaning and the stories behind it.”

That shift is happening not just in New Zealand, but around the world, especially as more travelers want to experience the natural wonders of the planet through the people and traditions native to those places.

“Simply put, travelers want more from their vacation,” said Jamie Sweeting, the travel company's vice president of sustainability. G-adventures, whose itineraries include overnight accommodations ranging from an indigenous eco-lodge in the Ecuadorian Amazon to a homestay with the Indonesian Tengger tribe. Especially since the pandemic, Ms. Sweeting said, people are looking for “experiences that help them change the way they see the world.” Indigenous-owned and led tourism experiences – a sector of the global tourism market valued at $40 billion by 2022 and prediction growing to $65 billion by 2032 – are increasingly the answer.

Embracing slow travel, Maori style

In New Zealand's North Island, visitors hungry for culturally immersive wilderness experiences are spoiled for choice.

In the Bay of Plenty region, which has a long tradition of Maori-led nature tourism, the Maoris own the nature tourism At Urewera Treks offers one- and multi-day guided wilderness walks through the Te Urewera Rainforest, the first in the world to be granted corporate status (meaning the forest now effectively owns itself) in recognition of the traditional Maori worldview. (One-day guided treks start at 240 New Zealand dollars, or about $151; a three-day trek costs $1,050, with overnight camping or in New Zealand's famous backcountry huts.)

About an hour's drive north, Kohutapu Lodge (doubles from $100) offers a similarly immersive alternative to some of the packaged Maori cultural experiences available in nearby Rotorua, where its Maori evenings of dinner and show have ensured it lives up to its RotoVegas nickname. Kohutapu, on the other hand, encourages guests to embrace slow travel Maori style, with an extensive menu of cultural, nature-based and culinary activities that highlight both the region's indigenous history and contemporary Maori life.

“We invite our visitors into our community, our home, our way of life – and that is very natural,” says Nadine Toe Toe, co-owner of Kohutapu Lodge. Travelers are “looking for more authentic and intimate experiences, from key centers, that are based on real life.”

“The pandemic has definitely made our visitors think about travel in a new way,” she said.

Jerry Whalen, 72, visited New Zealand with his wife Cyndi on a Viking Ocean Cruise in December 2022. The couple opted for a North Island excursion with a Maori cultural focus and spent a full afternoon at Kohutapu Lodge, including a guided walk to view ancient Maori cave paintings, a traditional meal cooked on hot stones and an intimate haka demonstration. The Whalens were so taken with Kohutapu that they have kept in touch with Mrs. Toe Toe and hope to return for a longer stay.

In Australia, major companies are participating

Across the Tasman Sea, Australia is also witnessing a surge in demand for Indigenous-led tours. Mark Olsen, the CEO of Tourism Tropical North Queensland (the predominantly Indigenous region that includes the Great Barrier Reef), has seen an increase in both the number of domestic travelers participating in Indigenous experiences and the average number of nights spent doing so. Tourism Australia, the Australian government's tourism marketing agency, has registered a record similar trend among international visitors the past ten years.

The intersection of tourism and Australia's indigenous peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, has not always been so promising. In 2017, Australia made international headlines when it banned people from climbing Uluru, the iconic monolith in Australia's Red Center that is also one of the country's most visited tourist attractions. But the ban came only after decades of pleas from the local Aboriginal community not to climb the site, which is sacred to them.

Today, however, Mr Olsen notes that, in addition to a growing number of indigenous tourism businesses in Australia, even major tour companies are making efforts “to involve Traditional Owners in their tours.” Operations such as Dreamtime dive and snorkel“which employs indigenous guides who share their culture and stories along the journey to the Great Barrier Reef” (day trips from 219 Australian dollars, or about $150), refutes the idea that the natural areas and Aboriginal culture of Australia must be experienced separately.

A global trend

These developments in the travel industry reflect a broader social trend. “There is a global push to recognize the rights of indigenous people, and there are increasing efforts to right past wrongs,” said Julia Albrecht, an associate professor at the University of California. Department of Tourism at New Zealand University of Otago.

“In New Zealand,” noted Dr. Albrecht notes, “the last two governments have been very supportive of all things Maori, not just in narrative, but also in policy.” In November, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, the main association representing the country's tourism businesses, published its Tourism 2050 strategy, which calls for “integrating kaupapa Maori (Maori approach) and matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge) into the tourism sector.”

Such initiatives, along with the creation of indigenous networks such as the World Alliance for Indigenous Tourism and vastly improved visibility through both conventional marketing and social media, have created “a case where supply and demand complemented each other,” says Anna Carr, associate professor and colleague of Albrecht at the University of Otago.

Such as G Adventures, the tour operator Travel fearlessly is expanding its indigenous tourism portfolio and introducing new indigenous experiences in the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in 2024. One constant, said Sara King, the general manager of Purpose at Intrepid, has been the “particularly emotional feedback from customers.

Erin Rowan, 32, from Boulder, Colorado, chose British Columbia Klahoose Wilderness Resort, owned by the Klahoose First Nation, before her honeymoon last September. In Canada's remote Desolation Sound, the resort offers “all-inclusive wildlife and cultural tours,” including native-guided grizzly bear viewing during the annual salmon run (all-inclusive three- and four-night stays from 2,495 Canadian dollars, or approximately $1,824, plus taxes and fees).

Ms. Rowan and her husband, Matt Allegretto, wanted a trip “that felt intentional and aligned with our values,” and after following Klahoose Wilderness Resort “on TikTok, of all places,” Ms. Rowan said, “a light bulb went off.”

“We felt welcomed into a world that is completely different from our everyday lives,” Ms. Rowan said, adding that she and her husband hope to make Indigenous-led experiences “an important part of our future travels.”

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