Klahoose First Nation eyes expansion for tourism businesses after successful summer season

A brown building with white trim sits among a stand of trees.
The Gorge Harbour Marina Resort general store. Photo by Greg Osoba.
Greg Osoba - CKTZ - Cortes IslandBC | 17-10-2022
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People go through a glass paned doorway into a retail outlet.

Entry way to the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort general store. Photo by Greg Osoba.

Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC), the business arm of the Klahoose First Nation on Cortes Island, is looking towards the future after a successful tourism season this summer.

The QXMC operates two tourism-oriented businesses: the Klahoose Wilderness Lodge in Toba Inlet and the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort on Cortes.

The wilderness lodge was purchased by QXMC in 2020 and the Gorge resort in 2021.

2022 is the first year of fully operating both facilities under QXMC ownership and management. General Manager Jason Johnson, who assumed the position this past summer, is very pleased with how the busy season went at both properties. He says rooms and RV spots at the Gorge resort were virtually full the entire summer and the wilderness lodge had many sold out nights.

He says renovations are already underway at the Float House restaurant at the Gorge, and the same will happen at the wilderness lodge, along with an expansion of programs, once the busy fall season concludes. There are plans to develop the property known as "Trude's," adjacent to the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort, which QXMC acquired earlier this year.

Find out the details in the interview below with Johnson conducted by CKTZ News: