O me’a”kwa: AITC Is Around the Corner

(I’m going to travel over there, Northern Paiute)

Ha muh (How are you?)

Dear Members, Partners and Friends,

It’s hard to believe we’re just one month away from our 23rd Annual American Indian Tourism Conference, which begins on October 25, in Fort McDowell, AZ.

This year has been such a whirlwind with so many changes, so I’m excited for the chance to catch up with you all in Arizona.

I know every community is at a different level of readiness when it comes to fully re-implementing cultural heritage programming, so although tourism can be a path to economic recovery, it can’t come at the expense of our health, our safety and our peace of mind.

Even if you aren’t ready to start welcoming visitors, it is important to start planning for how to welcome visitors when the time is ready. These conversations about when and how to welcome visitors should not be left until the last minute.

Which is why we’re excited that so many of you ARE coming to AITC. We look forward to the idea sharing and the energy that happens between attendees when we all find ourselves in the same place.

As always, this year’s AITC welcomes plenty of expert-level speakers; exciting educational sessions and the networking opportunities that we all rely upon to help build ideas that allow our tribal nations to grow. This year’s American Indian Tourism Conference may not be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, but it may be the most important.

If you would still like to attend, it is not too late. We know many of you have had to delay your decision making due to internal factors.

Many of you have also asked us about how we plan to address concerns about safety in the midst of the spread of the COVID-19 Delta Variant. Please take a look at our AITC COVID-19 Mitigation Policy now to address those concerns.

While we’re hard at work on AITC, we have plenty of other initiatives in the works. Later this month, we encourage you to join us on September 30, during our third virtual AIANTA Town Hall event, where we introduce some of our programming for the next fiscal year, including new partnerships with Leave No Trace and America250.

The Town Hall is free to attend, and we invite you to bring your questions and be ready to share your own programming for the coming year. Please register online before the event to attend.

We’re excited to bring you along on AIANTA’s journey in the next fiscal year.

I hope to see you online or at AITC soon!

Boneedwa

(See you later, Northern Paiute)

Sherry L. Rupert, Chief Executive Officer

American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association