Western American Indian Chamber
Native Tourism Alliance
1900 Wazee Street, Suite 100
Denver, CO 80202

INFORMATI0N RELEASE                                              
CONTACT:  Ben Sherman    303-661-9819      bsherman@indiancountry.org  

WESTERN AMERICAN INDIAN CHAMBER, CONFERENCE BOARD AND AMERICAN EXPRESS TO CREATE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NATIVE AMERICAN TOURISM BUSINESSES

 - Initiative Identifies and Promotes Native Tourism Businesses -

            DENVER – June 2002 – Aided by a grant from the American Express Company, the Western American Indian Chamber has joined forces with The Conference Board’s Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel (B.E.S.T.) in an initiative to identify and promote American Indian and Tribally owned tourism businesses throughout the United States.  The organizations have created the first-ever on-line national directory of such enterprises on the web site www.nativetourism.org.   The announcement of the initiative was made at the World Eco-Tourism Summit in Quebec. 

The Western American Indian Chamber has played a central role in creating a national organization of American Indian tourism interests called the Native Tourism Alliance.  B.E.S.T., an initiative of The Conference Board, in association with the World Travel & Tourism Council, regularly profiles companies in the travel and tourism industry that advance business objectives while contributing to the well-being of the destination community and the environment. 

The web-based directory will serve to introduce international audiences to native cultures that thrive in the United States, and to assist tour companies and travelers who wish to visit authentic Native American destinations.  Currently, there are few state or Federal programs available to assist Native Americans in developing tourism businesses.

Ben Sherman, President of the Denver-based Western American Indian Chamber, noted, “Our ultimate goal is to help American Indian tribes and enterprises promote tourism businesses in ways that will improve economic opportunities, and will also support the preservation of indigenous cultures and the protection of our precious lands.  We will seek domestic and international partners that share our values regarding culture, community and lands, and invite them to join us in our work.”

Two American Indian tribal nations that have succeeded in developing tourism programs that preserve and protect tribal cultures and natural lands are the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado and the White Mountain Apache of Arizona.  The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe conducts carefully guided tours of the ancient homelands of the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) people, lands that they care for and treat with the utmost respect.  The White Mountain Apache offers an exemplary recreation and tourism enterprise in their spectacular mountain homelands that is a model for sustainable resource management in the global tourism industry.

The directory of travel-related businesses owned and operated by American Indian tribes, Alaska Native tribes and villages, and American Indian companies and individuals will be available in a limited print edition for the primary target audience of American Indian tribes and selected tour industry buyers at the end of this year.

The new on-line website directory, www.nativetourism.org, became operational in May 2002.  For information, please contact the Western American Indian Chamber and Native Tourism Alliance at telephone (303) 620-9292.

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The Native Tourism Alliance, headquartered in Denver, Colorado has played a central role in supporting American Indian tourism interests in the United States for several years.  This initiative of the Western American Indian Chamber was created to serve American Indian business and economic development through tourism, while supporting the preservation and integrity of indigenous cultures, communities and lands.  The Native Tourism Alliance is headed by an all-Indian board of directors.