The founders of Legacy are former tourism owner/operators of some of the most successful tourism businesses of their kind in Canada. Legacy staff know the realities of running a world-class tourism operation in both tough and prosperous times. A resort owned and operated by a Legacy founder was chosen by Conde Nast as the best family resort and eco-resort in North America. Another of our properties was designated as one of the most iconic tourism offerings in Canada being one of the first “Signature Experiences” chosen by Destination Canada. Another operated a wildlife viewing experience named one of the top 10 in the world while a fourth created one of the top modern golf courses in Canada. It is due to this breadth of experiences that provides the Legacy team with a different perspective, allowing them to surgically identify opportunities that are not obvious and that will differentiate the destination from the competitive landscape.
Key factors why you should choose the Legacy Tourism
Group to assist with your next tourism project
86
Tourism Projects
Globally
Since 2013 Legacy has completed or is engaged on over 86 projects with various Indigenous Nations, entrepreneurs, provincial governments and regional municipalities from coast to coast to coast. Of these, 58 were for Indigenous communities.
100+
Years of
Combined Experience
The Legacy team has a combined 100+ years of experience working with Indigenous communities. In fact, one of the Legacy team continues to work at the treaty table and has for more than 21 years, providing an excellent understanding of both treaty and non-treaty challenges.
Legacy Tourism
The Founders
Combined 400+ Years
Tourism Management Consultants
As tourism management consultants, it is the combined 400+ years of on the ground experience our members collectively share that sets our team apart. Our Chief Financial advisor owned his own accounting firm which worked with many tourism clients that he later sold to KPMG; our PR specialist has been contracted by both Destination Canada, Jordan Tourism Board N.A. and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada; our marketers have worked with some of the best-known resorts and hotels around the world and our Food and Beverage specialist has been an Executive Chef at a five-star property. All of this is to say that we create feasibility reports and business plans that are written to be implemented – not sit on a shelf to collect dust.
Creation of Jobs
Return to Community
At Legacy we believe that “Return to Community” is as important as the “Return on Investment”. The creation of healthy and meaningful jobs where staff members are proud of their position and feel a true ownership in the business is an absolute priority. We believe strongly that any destination development recommendations need to benefit the residents of the local community as well as providing a meaningful guest experience. In the case of our Indigenous clients we understand that the guest experience needs to authentically represent and respect the culture, heritage and values of that specific Nation while also respecting the land itself.
Legacy Tourism
Integrity and Values
We are best known for our integrity and values, and our realistic approach to creating sustainable and resilient tourism experiences. One of the hardest parts of our work is informing clients that they do not have a good opportunity for a tourism experience development in their area.
The majority of the projects we have worked on involve significant public engagement with leadership, management and the community. We recognize and respect the need to ensure that our work reflects the values and desires of our clients and the communities they represent. Engagement sessions are held in an informal but professional manner ensuring that the folks we are working with feel comfortable sharing their ideas and leave feeling that their passions and concerns have been communicated and respected fully.
The Legacy team adheres to strict project management practices and project controls. As a result, we have earned a reputation for delivering high quality projects on time and within budget.
Strong Industry Relationships
Over the past 30 years the Legacy team has built up a proprietary list of some of the best international and domestic travel trade agents and wholesalers. These strong relationships provide Legacy clients with a significant advantage when it comes time to take their product to market, often decreasing the time it takes to validate the experience and begin booking sales.
Pre-qualified DMO Supplier
Legacy is a pre-qualified supplier to both Destination BC and Travel Alberta provincial organizations. As such, we are extremely fluent in current issues facing the industry including the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These insights and access to the most current research allows us to provide insightful and pragmatic advice to our clients.
The Legacy Tourism Group has significant experience working with a wide range of tourism businesses that attract and cater to high-yield/low volume as well as lower-yield/high-volume operations. The team has worked on everything from ultra-high end wilderness resorts to strategically located gas stations.
Tourism operations that Legacy founders owned and operated as well as many of the projects we currently work on revolve around the construction and operation of camps and resorts in very remote locations. From the stormy West Coast of B.C. to the frigid North Yukon and western Northwest Territories to the west coast of Hudson’s Bay, we understand the challenges (and costs) of building in these remote areas and what it takes to create an experience that will attract guests from around the world. We also understand that this work must leave the smallest environmental footprint possible. Due to this expertise in remote tourism infrastructure, the Province of Alberta chose Legacy Tourism to review and recommend “comfort camping” infrastructure options for all of Alberta’s provincial parks. This work won the 2019 North American Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals planning award.
We understand the world of federal and provincial bureaucracies and their funding agencies and have assisted our clients in raising millions of dollars from public and private agencies for tourism projects. The business plans we complete are considered “finance-ready” and include projections that traditional lenders and public agencies appreciate for being both conservative and based on real-world experiences. Our financial feasibility work and financial projections have been submitted by our clients to groups such as Grant Thorton, KPMG and the BMO Tourism Group for third-party review and in every instance they have stated that our projections are both conservative, extremely detailed and accurate – all attributes that resonate with potential investors. We are also often tasked by our clients with existing tourism experiences to improve their profitability and conversion ratio.
