Vancouver Startup Agency Sees Social Mission Driving Business

A startup travel agency in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a unique back story is finding that its social enterprise mission is driving business from unexpected sources.

The agency, Aboriginal Travel Services, opened its doors in April 2014 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the nonprofit cultural tourism organization Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia. A full-service corporate-focused agency, Aboriginal Travel Services is also an affiliate of WD World Travel, which serves as its host.

Aboriginal Travel Services was the brainstorm of management consultant Scott Roberts, who was hired by Aboriginal Tourism BC to help it package authentic cultural visitor experiences that spotlight the living traditions of British Columbia’s aboriginal or native peoples.

“We realized this was much bigger than just putting together an inbound packaging company,” said Roberts, whose background includes executive posts with Air Canada, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations and Coast Hotels & Resorts.

Developing sustainable tourism
Roberts’ idea was to open a retail travel agency and use its profits to support the economic development work of Aboriginal Tourism BC.

The organization provides product development, training, and marketing as part of its mission to build a sustainable tourism industry and create jobs for the region’s aboriginal communities, which in Canada are also called First Nations communities.

“The more we drive business to those communities, the more they’re employing their own people,” Roberts said.

Roberts anticipated that an aboriginal-owned and -operated travel agency would find a built-in market in the extensive governmental and nongovernmental business travel of First Nations communities; in the province of BC alone, there are 200 bands.

He expected that the bulk of the agency’s business would come from First Nations organizations that would want to support an aboriginal-owned company. That’s where things took an unexpected turn.

Social mission attracts clients
Aboriginal Travel Services operates as a not-for-profit agency, reinvesting its revenues back into the community. This includes contributing 12% to 16% of the agency’s service fees to a scholarship the agency established to fund First Nations youth who enroll in accredited tourism and hospitality courses.

The agency plays up its social mission. “We make it very well-known in our marketing that any business you do with the agency is also funding the social enterprise aspect,” Roberts said.

To his surprise, the response from outside the First Nations community has been so strong that non-Aboriginal companies are driving the larger share of business.

“There are companies that want to be seen as socially responsible and others that truly want to assist youth education in the Aboriginal community. For some of these companies it’s almost a no-brainer: ‘For the same or less money I can deal with you, get the same service, yet a portion of what I’m spending goes to the community.’”

Host agency relationship is key
Roberts knew from the outset that affiliating with an established and respected host agency was critical to success. “We had to be seen as giving the same or better service and pricing as other agencies. Without that host environment and technology, we would not be able to do that.”

Aboriginal Travel Services takes full advantage of WD World Travel’s infrastructure, including its GDS systems, reporting and accounting systems, and online booking tools. “That allows us to behave like an agency that’s been in business for years,” Roberts said.

The young agency focuses about 80% of its efforts on retail travel, predominantly corporate, and about 20% on the packaging and sales of cultural programs that allow visitors to experience the music, dance, storytelling, food, and other traditions of British Columbia’s aboriginal peoples.

It employs three full-time travel counselors, including both First Nations and non-First Nations individuals. Roberts spends his time on business development, operations, and relationship management.

In the agency’s first year of business, sales exceeded $1 million; Roberts expects to double that in its second year.

Part of what’s driving the growth is the agency’s inbound travel offering, Roberts said. “There’s such a renewed interest in aboriginal tourism in so many parts of the world. The European and Asian markets love it.”

Rewarding experience
For Roberts, who grew up in Alberta but is not a member of the First Nations community, helping to create Aboriginal Travel Services has proven to be personally fulfilling.

“There’s not many times in your career when you can do something that feels right in your heart. I am loving it, because you actually see tangible results. For all intents and purposes you have the ability to change people’s lives.”