Tourism Has Always Been Part of Our Story

April 20, 2026

Every April, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada invites the country to pause and recognize something that often gets taken for granted. Tourism is not just an industry. It is the reason small towns stay on the map, cultures find new audiences, and why good jobs exist in places that need them most.

This year, National Tourism Week runs April 20 to 24, and at Métis Crossing, we are marking it with a full heart.

What This Week Means to Us

When people hear the word tourism, they often picture airports and hotel lobbies. But for an Indigenous-led destination like Métis Crossing, tourism means something more specific. It means that Métis culture, history, and language have a living, breathing stage. It means that Knowledge Holders and Elders can share what they carry with guests who are genuinely hungry to learn. It means that a community’s story does not fade quietly into the past.

Canada is home to more than 2,750 Indigenous-led tourism businesses and organizations. Each one exists because someone believed their culture was worth sharing and worth protecting. We count ourselves among them, and National Tourism Week is one of the moments we get to say that out loud.

Where We Started and Where We Are

Métis Crossing sits on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, about 1.5 hours northeast of Edmonton. It is a place our ancestors knew well, and it is a place we have worked for years to build into something that honours that history while welcoming the future.

What started as a vision for a cultural gathering place has grown into Alberta’s first major Métis cultural destination. Today, guests come from across Alberta, across Canada, and from around the world to experience Signature Experiences rooted in Métis tradition, sleep under the stars in our Sky Watching Domes, encounter our white bison herd, and gather at The Lodge for retreats, celebrations, and quiet getaways.

The destination continues to grow. The completion of new guest cabins and the opening of Sage and Spruce Indigenous Spa have expanded what a visit to Métis Crossing can look like, from a quiet overnight in the trees to a wellness experience rooted in Métis tradition. We received the Alberta Provincial Indigenous Tourism Leadership Award at the 2026 ITAC Indigenous Tourism Awards. And through it all, our team kept showing up for the guests who make the journey to find us.

None of that happens without tourism. Without the industry that makes it possible for people to travel with intention, spend in communities that need it, and return home changed by what they experienced.

What Travel in Canada Can Look Like

On Thursday of National Tourism Week, TIAC asks Canadians to take a pledge — to travel within Canada and support the communities that tourism sustains. We love this. Not because it benefits us directly, but because we genuinely believe in what Canada has to offer when you look beyond the obvious.

There is something waiting for you along a river valley in rural Alberta that you will not find in a city. A story told by someone whose family has lived on this land for generations. A sky so clear at night it feels borrowed from another century. A wellness experience rooted not in trends, but in the kind of knowledge that has been passed down for as long as people have needed healing.

That is what Indigenous-led tourism offers. And that is what National Tourism Week is asking Canadians to seek out.

Come Find Us

If Métis Crossing has been on your list, this is the week to make it a plan. Book an overnight stay at The Lodge or in our Sky Watching Domes and spend a night on the North Saskatchewan River with nothing between you and the stars. If you are planning a corporate retreat, team gathering, or group experience, our team can build something worth the drive.

Spring along the river is something you have to see to believe. Reach out to book or start a conversation at metiscrossing.com.