OTTAWA, ONTARIO (March 14, 2006) -
The Virtual Tour of Aboriginal Canada (VTAC), a new web portal which provides an online showcase of Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal tourism businesses in Canada, was unveiled today during the 2006 National Aboriginal Connectivity and E-Services Forum. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada launched this new tool on behalf of The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians.
"This new electronic gateway allows users to virtually visit connected Aboriginal communities in Canada from anywhere in the world," said Minister Prentice. "It will help Aboriginal communities and tourism businesses to market themselves, in a number of languages, to domestic and international suppliers and wholesalers, including for key events such as the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games."
One of the main goals of the new portal is to help tourism marketers and their customers gain a better understanding of the unique Aboriginal tourism opportunities available in Canada. Aboriginal communities will be able to use this electronic gateway to regularly update their web information directly to enable them to tell their own stories online, in real-time.
The Virtual Tour of Aboriginal Canada will be rolled out in three distinct phases. The first phase, launched today, provides a directory of connected Aboriginal communities across Canada. Subsequent phases will be rolled out in later stages. All phases will be co-developed with our Aboriginal, federal, provincial and territorial partners. Together, they will create a comprehensive single window of information on Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal tourism development.
VTAC is the tourism companion to the Virtual Aboriginal Trade Show, a web portal launched by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada in March 2004 to connect Aboriginal businesses and organizations with international partners and buyers online. It is another example of an on-going partnership between the Government of Canada and national Aboriginal organizations to apply technology to support Aboriginal economic development and to showcase Aboriginal products and services online.
Both portals were developed by the Aboriginal Canada Portal Working Group as part of the Government of Canada's on-going efforts to expand the participation of Aboriginal people in the economy. Both portals will continue to expand to reflect the growing diversity of Aboriginal businesses in Canada.
Funding for this project was provided by the Economic Development Branch of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
VTAC, go to www.vtac-gvtac.ca -->
To find out more about VTAS, go to www.vats.ca
To find out more about the Aboriginal Canada Portal, go to www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca
For more information, contact:
Media Relations Unit
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(819) 953-1160
