The increase in international visitors comes as no real surprise to AIANTA as we continually strive to raise the profile on Indian Country tourism by participating in the world’s top tourism trade shows.

Go International
To help Tribes elevate their own international marketing programs, we conducted the annual Go International training workshop, which is held every January in Albuquerque, with nearly 40 tourism professionals attending in 2019.

First-Ever Tribal Row at U.S. Travel’s IPW Trade Show
In 2019, AIANTA introduced the first-ever “Tribal Row” at IPW, the top international travel trade show in the United States. With four partner organizations, AIANTA showcased the rich visitor experiences available in Indian Country.

AIANTA also developed content showcasing all Tribal Exhibitors at IPW in order to make it easy for international tour operators to discover all the rich Native American experiences available to their clients.

Italian tour operators and media were invited to visit eight Tribal nations in Wisconsin, including Frog Bay Tribal National Park (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), the first Tribal National Park in the United States.

NATIVE Act Funding
In the past year, AIANTA entered into a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to serve as a facilitator of the NATIVE Act and is currently working to establish the parameters of that agreement.

21st Annual American Indian Tourism Conference
AIANTA hosted its 21st Annual American Indian Tourism Conference at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The conference attracted nearly 50 speakers who provided training and networking opportunities to some 300 attendees, representing tribal tourism entities and other hospitality organizations around the country.

One of our best-attended conferences ever, the event generated more than 600 room nights, a new AITC record. During the energizing four-day conference, Tribal nations from around the country gathered together to enjoy high-level networking, education sessions and keynote speeches.

Cultural Heritage Certificate Program:
Working jointly with the George Washington University, AIANTA launched its second Cultural Heritage Tourism Certificate Program in 2019, with 43 participants.

Inaugural Tribal Tourism Information Gathering Session
To connect with tribes at a grassroots level, AIANTA introduced the first in a series of information gathering sessions. The first session, launched during AITC, asked tribes to share their successes and also describe what they need to fully implement cultural heritage tourism programs. View key responses from AIANTA’s first Information Gathering Session.

First-Ever State of Indian Country Tourism Survey
To measure confidence and tourism sentiment throughout Indian Country, AIANTA introduced its first-ever State of Indian Country Tourism survey.

Regional Speaking Engagements
AIANTA Board and staff continue to provide outreach through a series of speaking engagements at conferences and tradeshows throughout the country, including at the NCAI Annual Convention, the REDW Tribal Finance and Leadership Conference, the National Tour Association, RES 2019, the International Indigenous Tourism Conference (in Canada) and many others.

AIANTA is working with Tribes located adjacent to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to help them share and tell their stories.