Hosting Friends and Relatives: Experiences and Implications for Whitehorse and the Yukon

As hosts, residents of Whitehorse attract visitors, curate tailored experiences, and explore their own communities, stimulating diverse economic, social, and cultural impacts. 

Residents are influential ambassadors for their community, and businesses, associations, and government agencies interested in tourism development, destination reputation, cultural participation and integration, and migration and settlement, should acknowledge and leverage them as hosts. Hosts could be encouraged and incentivized to invite guests to meet specific goals including low season demand and dispersal of tourism activity, recruitment and settlement of migrants, resident involvement in local culture, and the provision of personal supports including childcare and emotional well-being. 

This report aims to establish a knowledge base recognizing hosting as a mechanism and catalyst for tourism and community development, and to encourage further research and informed action. The detailed report follows this summary.

Based on firsthand experiences of 54 Whitehorse residents interviewed in spring 2023, this report reveals how personal hospitality extends beyond simple acts of accommodation to serve as a foundation for cultural exchange, economic development, and enhanced communal bonds.