1,000 Canadian tourism entrepreneurs to receive funded training and mentorship by Firecircle

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 26, 2022 /CNW/ - How does Canada's beleaguered tourism industry inspire entrepreneurs to start new businesses? And how does it help those operators who are recovering from the pandemic to stabilize and grow while bravely navigating new economic hardships? Firecircle – that's how. 

Today, Firecircle announced its latest project, Transition to Tourism Entrepreneurship, an intensive business development program founded on Firecircle's innovative 5x5 Method and customized to empower 1,000 tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs from across Canada to envision, launch and grow their best business ideas through a series of animated online and live video workshops, step-by-step guidance and expert, sustained mentorship. The new resources being prepared and delivered through the Transition to Tourism Entrepreneurship program are targeted at the needs of Indigenous, rural, Northern and Francophone entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurs with disabilities seeking to start a business or recover their existing operations from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to Destination Canada's latest reports, domestic tourism spending and activity have increased to near 2019 levels and demand for Indigenous and rural tourism is on the rise, both domestically and internationally. However, the tourism industry's small and medium sized businesses, who make up over 99% of tourism businesses in Canada, are still struggling to recover and repoint to meet that demand. Deneen Allen, CEO of Firecircle and one of Canada's leading sustainable tourism advisors, is passionate when she says, "It is imperative that the entrepreneurial spirit and capacity of our tourism industry be supported with effective education and mentorship that create opportunities for new growth and future resiliency – that's where this exciting program comes in". 

A full 500 of the 1,000 total participant seats in the Transition to Tourism Entrepreneurship program are being offered to Indigenous entrepreneurs, supported in partnership with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC). "This partnership will continue our efforts to return the Indigenous tourism industry to the historic levels of 2019. Firecircle will be an important partner in supporting aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs on their journey to developing their business plans, helping the industry recover, and build resiliency from the impacts of the pandemic. We are excited to offer this program to our members, which supports The Original-Original Accreditation Program as a tool for businesses who need extra support," says Keith Henry, President and CEO of ITAC.  A further 500 participant entrepreneurs will be invited to join the program from rural and Northern communities across the country. 

Firecircle is the only digital, mentored business accelerator platform for tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs in Canada. "Firecircle launched in 2020 to inspire new - and strengthen existing - tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. Our goal is to raise the bar in product and experience development in Canada's tourism industry," Deneen says. "Our national Ignite team of coaches and mentors for the Transition to Tourism Entrepreneurship program are focused on building robust, professional businesses through foundational knowledge and sustained mentorship in a way that has not previously been accessible for many of the project's target clients." 

Transition to Tourism Entrepreneurship is an exciting, three-year project funded in part by the Government of Canada's Sectoral Initiatives Program (SIP), by The Firecircle Ltd. and by an in-kind contribution by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. Applications for participation in the project will begin in October 2022; successful applicants will be onboarded beginning November 2022. 

For more information on The Firecircle Ltd. visit www.thefirecircle.ca/programs 

SOURCE Firecircle

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