Spirit Bear Lodge has won the Indigenous Adventure Award at the 2017 International Aboriginal Tourism Awards. The awards recognize and honour Aboriginal tourism leaders from across Canada.

Spirit Bear Lodge, located in Klemtu in Kitasoo/Xai’xais territory, is owned and operated by the First Nation. It is an internationally significant model for community-based ecotourism within a globally significant conservation area, the Great Bear Rainforest.

Spirit Bear Lodge is a successful tourism business that is returning profits to the Kitasoo/Xai’xais nation, helping to reawaken their culture, and conserving their ancestral territory.

Today, 25 out of 35 employees running the Spirit Bear Lodge operation are from the community. Guests come from all over the world come to see the wildlife and learn about the Kitasoo Xai’xais culture.

Spirit Bear Lodge has been listed as a Signature Experience by Canada Keep Exploring, an initiative of Destination Canada. Officially curated, the Canadian Signature Experiences are once-in-a-lifetime travel experience

As of December 2017, Spirit Bear Lodge has received $1,099,000 funding through Coast Funds Economic Development Fund.