Tourism has been at the heart of Hawaiʻi's economy since the 1970's.
The visitor industry has gone through different phases here, and in other parts of the Asia Pacific. In Australia, there's an area that's seeing some new growth.
In Western Australia, visitors and residents are spending more time with a growing piece of the local hospitality industry: Indigenous tourism.
It's a broad term — focused on cultural experiences led by local Indigenous hosts. Examples can range from educational tours of tribal lands to participation in cultural activities of different kinds.
Last month, the World Travel and Tourism Council met in Western Australia and published a report on the growth of Indigenous tourism around the world.
It projects demand for these kinds of experiences will swell to $67 billion within the next decade.
On the other end of the country, the government of New South Wales says Indigenous tourism drew more than 800,000 people last year and they spent more than $3 billion.
Just this month, three groups focused on Indigenous tourism joined forces to protect what they call “authentic tourism experiences from cultural misrepresentation," as well as preventing non-Native tour operators from cashing in on this growth.
The publication Tribal Business News says the groups include the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, and New Zealand Maori Tourism.
