SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In a state with the second-most federally acknowledged Indigenous tribes within the nation, California officers and tribal leaders introduced an initiative Wednesday to drive up tourism in native communities.
The initiative, Visit Native California, and its accompanying web site are funded by a $1 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, which targets public well being and financial impacts of the pandemic and was signed into regulation by President Joe Biden final 12 months. Tribes introduced it in partnership with Visit California, the state’s important tourism advertising company.
It’s one of many newest efforts to revitalize tourism nationwide after the early stage of the pandemic halted journey — and the spending that comes with it. California misplaced a projected $72.8 billion in tourism spending in 2020, according to research by Tourism Economics, a knowledge and consulting agency. The purpose is to tell vacationers concerning the music, artwork, nature, and historical past which have formed tribal communities for generations. The web site will promote places across the state, together with by way of podcasts, and supply itineraries for vacationers.
“This project, this site, it gives my tribe the opportunity, the ability to share our culture,” stated Reid D. Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, at a press convention on the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza in Palm Springs.
The plaza, which can open subsequent 12 months, hosts the 48,000-square-foot Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, a path and a spa on the sacred Agua Caliente mineral sizzling spring. Other tribal websites promoted by the marketing campaign embody the Barona Cultural Center and Museum in Lakeside, California, and a cultural heart within the Santa Monica Mountains close to Los Angeles.
Milanovich, whose ancestral lands see 200,000 annual guests, stated he hopes the initiative results in related ones in different states.
“I am optimistic and hope that other states across the country see what we are doing here in California,” Milanovich stated. “The state and tribes partnering on tourism is a win-win.”
Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California, estimates that the group has been in touch with greater than a dozen of California’s 109 tribes forward of the initiative’s rollout, set for March 2023.
Leaders concerned within the initiative hope it presents an opportunity for guests to turn into extra knowledgeable concerning the historical past of tribal lands.
“Cultural tourism to us is so important for many, many reason,” stated Sherry Rupert, American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association President and CEO.
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Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on undercovered points. Follow Sophie Austin on Twitter.