Tourism is Your Business

Reproduction of any items from Tourforce is welcome, with acknowlegement of the source.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are the most prestigious tourism awards in the world.

The destination Award, presented by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) - a coalition of chairs and chief executives from all sectors of the industry is awarded to a destination that has shown dedication to, and success in, maintaining a policy of sustainable management incorporating social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects as well as multi-stakeholder engagement.

As a finalist’s judge in the Global Business Category of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards I am keenly aware of the high standards of the elite group of Award finalists. With nominations from some 130 entrants across 40 countries competition across the four categories is intense. Reaching the finals alone is a globally significant achievement. The judging process is rigorous and involves four separate and independent assessment processes to seek out the awardees.

For a protected area manager to take out such an award is a huge step forward for both protected area management and tourism. The GBRMPA has seized the opportunity to link with tourism in a way that delivers both conservation and economic benefits.

The GBRMPA fiercely upholds its conservation responsibilities yet has facilitated the delivery of the World’s leading destination, this is a remarkable achievement. The Great Barrier Reef generates an estimated A$5 billion in tourism earnings annually
and supports around 50,000 local jobs.

The Great Barrier Reef, covers some 35 million hectares and was Australia’s first inscribed World Heritage Area (1981). Over the past 6-8 years GBRMPA has made huge strides in engaging with the tourism industry to achieve conservation, presentation and economic development outcomes. Initiatives such as support of operators who demonstrate best practice and who carry Eco Certification is an example of the proactive approach of the GBRMPA.

In a submission to the Commonwealth Government’s 2005 review of GBRMPA I commented:
“The GBRMPA has been extremely proactive and positive in its dealings with the ecotourism industry and it enjoys a high standing with the industry. Of particular note was its initiative to establish a specialised tourism management unit. This innovative measure enables the industry, which is a significant economic driver for the region, to interact with tourism professionals within the Authority. Additionally the unit is staffed with people who have high level skills in tourism planning and policy development. The level of interaction between the tourism industry and the Authority is extremely encouraging. It recognises that tourism is a major economic driver in its ascendancy, and one that is relatively benign from an environmental perspective.

I strongly supported the Representative Areas Plan approach by GBRMPA and believe without question that the greater protection offered to the reef as a result will deliver medium and long term benefits. Of particular relevance is the growing economic value of tourism and its dependence on a high quality reef system. Already the tourism industry delivers significantly more economic benefits to the economy than more exploitative activities such as commercial fishing. However the full potential of tourism is still before us.”

I am aware through my dealings with international tourism and conservation bodies of the high regard held for the programs of the Authority. The knowledge and expertise held within GBRMPA has enormous potential for reef conservation globally. Australia has a responsibility to share this.

Awards such as Tourism for Tomorrow are fitting recognition for the GBRMPA. However, the innovation and leadership shown by GBRMPA doesn’t happen by accident, it is a product of innovative legislation, innovative policy and innovative management. Specialised authorities such as GBRMPA are vital. The successful formula that exists within the GBRMPA has broader application both in Australia and overseas.

The potential for protected area managers and the tourism industry to work together for mutual benefit is enormous. Hopefully this global award and the kudos it delivers to government and industry spurs on others to become more proactive.

Congratulations once again to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and its Tourism Industry Partners

Tony Charters
Principal Tony Charters and Associates

A fusion of scientific minds is leading the way in providing world-leading solutions in reducing the impacts of tourism on Ningaloo Reef Marine Park in Western Australia. The Ningaloo Flagship Collaboration Fund Cluster is integrating scientific knowledge of reef use, biodiversity and socio-economics into management strategy evaluation for the Ningaloo Marine Park. This initiative which involves university and government research institutions will assist local communities to understand the impacts of tourism on their local environment, economy and community before investing in major tourism infrastructure.

Further information: http://www.csiro.au/Organisation-Structure/Flagships/Wealth-from-Oceans-Flagship/ORCA/Ningaloo-Collaboration-Cluster.aspx

The Hotel Association of Canada’s Green Key Eco-Rating program rates hotels from one to five green keys, with five keys being the best. The program has been running for 10 years, and to achieve a Green Key rating hotels must excel in areas such as energy management, water conservation, waste management, air quality and community involvement. Green Key participants also have access to tips, articles and case studies. The Canadian government has been a driving force for the program as employees are required to stay at Green Key rated hotels.

Further information: http://www.hacgreenhotels.com/

The National Landscapes initiative is a partnership between the tourism and conservation sectors to identify iconic landscapes, which capture and promote the essence of Australia’s unique regions. The initiative transcends boundaries of individual national parks, municipal areas and States to market the iconic landscapes that offer a unique Australian experience to adventurous international travellers.

The Red Centre is the first National Landscape to be promoted via a documentary available to Australian Geographic magazine subscribers and sponsored by Tourism Australia, Parks Australia and Tourism NT.

Further information: http://www.tourism.australia.com/content/Niche/National_Landscapes_Abridged_Brochure.pdf

Clean Cruising has partnered with the not-for-profit organisation Carbon Neutral to plant Australian native trees to combat the carbon emissions generated by cruise vessels. Clean Cruising calculates the environmental impact of a passenger by combining Google Earth cruise route mapping with data from both industry and independent researchers.They then plant the required number of trees to offset these emissions and customers receive a certificate verifying how many trees were planted on their behalf.

A typical 10 night South Pacific cruise generates almost 2 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per person which would be offset by planting 8 trees.

Further information: http://www.cleancruising.com.au/

Dave has worked independently with a variety of clients including Grand Teton Lodge Company, Vail Resorts, Rockefeller Holdings, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming State Tourism, Marriott and TIES-member Papoose Creek Lodge in Cameron, MT. He has also worked with conservation organisations such as Trout Unlimited, Deschutes River Conservancy, and Yellowstone to Yukon among others.

Travel to mountain ecosystems is increasing at a rapid pace, as growing numbers of tourists are attracted to the clean air, unique landscapes and wildlife, scenic beauty, culture, history, and recreational opportunities. Yet, while this growth provides important benefits to local communities and national economies, the very popularity of mountain areas also poses a potential threat to the health of their natural and cultural resources.
Poorly planned and implemented tours and tourist activities can have a serious impact on these often fragile ecosystems, as well as on the communities that inhabit mountain regions.
This guide has been created to help mountain-based tour operators and other mountain recreation professionals improve their environmental and social performance. The guide begins with an overview of mountain ecosystems and communities and a discussion of the nature and potential impacts of mountain tourism and tour activities. Good practices are reviewed and are grouped into three main categories: good business practices, good environmental practices and good practices for specific tour activities. For each individual issue good practices, recommendations of specific practices, and case examples are offered. A self-assessment checklist is included – at the back of the guide. This check list is for tour operators to use both to identify areas of business activity that need improvement and as a tool for choosing business partners and suppliers based on sustainability criteria.

The full document can be downloaded by visiting http://www.unep.fr/pc/tourism/library/TourismandMountain.htm

Fly-Drive Holidays Take off - Melbourne Tops the List of Destinations

An increasing number of Australians are taking advantage of discount domestic airfares by taking a fly-drive holiday (a fly-drive holiday is defined as a holiday where the respondent travelled by air and also hired a car or borrowed a car from their friends or relatives) instead of a traditional drive holiday, according to the latest Roy Morgan Single Source data. Virgin Blue first introduced discount domestic airfares in August 2000, but availability of discounted fares increased following the launch of Qantas low-cost subsidiary Jetstar in May 2004.

The steep increase in petrol prices from January 2004 to September 2006 further encouraged people to fly to their main destination rather than drive. The percentage of Australians opting to fly-drive on their last domestic holiday has increased from 8% in the year ended June 2001 to 12% in the year ended September 2006. This is good news for the tourism industry because the fly-drive market takes longer holidays and spends more money. In the year ended September 2006, fly-drive tourists holidayed for an average of eight nights (versus six nights for the total domestic market), and spent $2076 on average (versus $1079).

Jetstar Stalls Growth of Virgin Blue

The success of Jetstar in Australia— Qantas’ low cost subsidiary — in capturing the domestic airline market has stalled the growth of Virgin Blue in both the domestic holiday market and business market, the latest Roy Morgan Single Source data finds. 

Results also show the low cost carriers still have potential to grow their share of business travellers, with 48% saying they would consider flying on Virgin Blue for their next business trip, and 25% saying they would consider Jetstar.

Jane Ianniello, Roy Morgan Research International Director of Tourism, Travel & Leisure, says:
“In the last three years many Australians have been taking advantage of discount airfares and flying to their domestic holiday destination rather than driving.  
“Virgin Blue and Jetstar have quite successfully positioned themselves as cheaper alternatives to Qantas.  It will be interesting to see how the possible entrance into the domestic market of Tiger Airways, an ultra low cost carrier, will affect Virgin Blue and Jetstar.”

High Yield Travellers
Australians who flew Qantas on their last domestic holiday spent more per person per night than Virgin Blue or Jetstar flyers.  Results for year ending December 2006 show that Qantas holidaymakers spend on average $209 per night compared to $180 and $174 for Virgin Blue and Jetstar holidaymakers respectively.

Those who flew Qantas are also more affluent.  Survey results show that 38% of Qantas holidaymakers are classified as AB, the highest socio-economic quintile (the AB quintile comprises the top 20% of the Australian population 14 years or older in terms of socioeconomic status - the socioeconomic status of a respondent is derived from their education, income and occupation), ahead of Jetstar (29%) and Virgin Blue (27%).  Sixty-one percent of Qantas business travellers are classified as AB, compared to 46% of both Virgin Blue and Jetstar business flyers.

(excerpt from http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2007/626/)

TripAdvisor the world's largest online travel community with more than 20 million unique monthly visitors has released the results of its ecotourism survey of more than 1,000 travellers worldwide.

In the run up to the Summit an Interactive Web Channel was created by WTTC in order to publish comments on topics on the Summit programme. These current debates are available to participants on the following link http://www.globaltraveltourism.com/webchannel/

For more information on the summit visit http://www.globaltraveltourism.com/default.asp

If you are a successful woman involved with tourism, this event is a must. A panel will discuss various topics on what women want in the tourism industry.

For bookings please visit www.tourismcouncilwa.com.au
Or any further information contact tcwa@tourismcouncilwa.com.au

One of the key documents The Oslo Statement on Ecotourism is available on the conference website. The statement will be revised based on results of the conference workshops and feedback, the official announcement of the Final Statement will be in late June.

TIES has created the GEC07 Online Forum. Contributions can be made to the online forum as a continuation of discussions on the topics addressed at the conference. http://s8.createphpbb.com/gec07/

For further information visit the conference website: http://www.ecotourismglobalconference.org/

From Left: Lisha Mulqueeny, Director of Tourism and Recreation GBRMPA; Giulia Carbone, Programme Officer IUCN; Robyn Bushell, Associate Professor UWS; Tony Charters, Principal Tony Charters & Associates and Vice Chair of TIES at the Global Ecotourism Conference, Oslo.

The sessions have been created specifically to explore topics and case studies relating to sustainable tourism in city destinations as well as the relationship between the attractiveness of a city tourism destination and liveability in Asia Pacific Cities. 

Confirmed speakers for Sustainable Tourism Future Directions for Cities include: Richard Register of USA’s Ecocities Builders; Prof. Terry DeLacey, Executive Directorof Australia’s Tourism CRC; Dr Ken Chapman, CEO of Skyrail and developer of Ngong Ping 360 in Hong Kong; Molly Harriss Olson, Managing Director of Eco Futures; and Andrew Skeat, CEO of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. 

Expert practitioners’ perspectives and case studies will lead exploration of issues relating to Great Places to Visit are Great Places to Live. Dr Wendy Sarkissian, Sarkissian Planners is a confirmed speaker for this session.

For more information visit: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE::pc=PC_1801,?cpMaskURL&mask=apcs

The Lao National Tourism Administration will organise the 3rd annual Lao Ecotourism Forum at the Don Chan Palace Hotel in Vientiane from 26-29 July 2007. This event aims to bring together tour operators, travel agents, accommodation providers, development agencies, national tourism organisations and indigenous people from throughout the Mekong Region to network and expand business opportunities.

Further information: http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/forum2007/

The Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) conference is focussing on practical responses for climate change. Following a series of focus group discussions it was evident that agencies working across regional Australia were seeking practical tools to plan and respond to climate change. The conference this year, to be held at Wollongong 17-19 September, takes up the theme Changing Regions: the road to success.

Each day of SEGRA will have specialised plenary and workshop sessions on Climate Change designed specifically for regional practitioners. A special working group made up of Assoc Prof Peter Waterman (University of Sunshine Coast), Prof Colin Woodroffe (University of Wollongong), Prof Bob Miles (University of Central Queensland) and Tony Charters (Convenor, SEGRA) is developing the climate change elements of SEGRA.

In addition to the climate change agenda SEGRA 2007 will feature:
• Facilitated Study Tours on Monday Afternoon
• Panel Discussions during Plenary Sessions
• Private Briefing Sessions
• Demonstrations of Practical Tools for Modelling and Analysing Regions and Regional Issues
• A Special Interest Climate Change Program
• State of the Illawarra Region Summit

For more information on SEGRA 2007 contact Jessica Shelton on (07) 3210 0021 or email info@managementsolutions.net.au
For further information please visit www.segra.com.au/segra

The Australian Government will invest $193.3 million in tourism over the next four years. Tourism Australia will continue to receive $46.4 million per year of additional funding from 2007/08 through to the end of 2010/2011 on top of the base funding of $90 million per annum.

To encourage more international visitors and to strengthen Australian domestic tourism The Budget allocated an extra $193.3 million of funding for the tourism industry - which will be the largest investment in tourism funding in the history of Australia.

Tourism highlights:

• Tourism Australia has been allocated $46.4M per year from 2008-09 above the base level of funding.

• The Australian Tourism Development Program has been allocated $34.9M over four years

• $15 million for a new sunrise viewing area for tourists visiting Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park

• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has been allocated $15.6M to increase field management funding

• $126 million has been allocated to the Australian Centre for Climate Change to fund its establishment and management

• World Youth Day 2008 has been allocated $3 million over two years to manage the stay of the expected 135,000 pilgrims

• Adelaide Oval will receive $25 million over three years for the redevelopment of the Western Grandstand.

• $21.2 million funding for the National Portrait Gallery in order for the new gallery building to be fully functional when opened

• An additional funding of $10 million has been allocated to the National Sports Museum, including the construction of the new Museum Entrance and interactive installations at the MCG

• $25 million over two years to the Sydney Cricket Grounds for the construction of a new grandstand, conditional on the NSW Government matching the Australian Government contribution.

The Australian Government has committed $15 million for a new sunrise viewing area for tourists visiting Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park. The additional funding will allow work to begin immediately on the construction phase including new road access, parking and a viewing platform. The new funding brings total spending on the facility to more than $21 million and opens up the prospect of new business opportunities for the tourism industry and local Anangu people, both during and after construction, which is to be finished in 2008.

For further information visit: http://www.minister.industry.gov.au/index.cfm?event=object.showContent&objectID=6ADA8B72-055A-947D-AB35E498A13C80F4

The Queensland Government will fund construction of the $10 million Ma:Mu Rainforest Canopy Walk in the Wooroonooran National Park near Innisfail in Tropical North Queensland. The project includes construction of 400 metres of elevated walkway, bridges and towers, a forest floor walkway, entry building, toilets, operations building, maintenance facilities, car park and a new intersection with the Palmerston Highway. The canopy walk will link to other walks in the region and will have spectacular canopy-level views of World Heritage highland rainforest, wild rivers, mountains, gorges and rapids.

For further information visit http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=51239

http://www.abc.net.au/farnorth/stories/s1048000.htm

This view over the North Johnstone river will soon become a major tourist attraction

Festivals Australia provides funding assistance to Australian regional and community festivals for the presentation of quality projects. Funding is primarily available for cultural, community and local government organisations that run festivals in regional and remote areas of Australia. Applications close on 16 July 2007 for projects starting from 1 January 2008.

Presentations and papers from the 2006 National Conference on Tourism Futures are now available on CD-ROM. The conference saw an outstanding field of high-profile keynote and concurrent speakers covering issues that reflect the diversity and depth of the Australian tourism industry and provide an update on the current state of play, emerging trends, best practice and challenges. The CD-ROM features self loading and search functions presented in an easy to navigate hyperlinked template, containing over 70 presentations and papers.

Al Gore’s climate change slide show has been adapted for Australian audiences with additional Australian information on climate science, impacts and solutions. Al Gore led the training on the slide show content, with support from eminent Australian scientists Professor Ian Lowe and Dr Graeme Pearman.
“Al Gore spent 14 hours with us leading every aspect of the first day’s training. I was extremely impressed by his in depth knowledge of the topic and his preparedness to devote so much time to us.” Tony said.

Eight months after Mr Gore’s visit, the 84 presenters have delivered more than 693 presentations to at least 40,000 people. Presentations are focussing business leaders on ways to deal with climate change – and audiences are hungry for examples of what some workplaces are already doing.
Tony Charters presented recently at the Alpine Resorts Sustainability Forum in Melbourne, looking particularly at future scenarios for the alpine industry.
The Climate Project -Australia was the first program established outside of the USA . At home in Nashville Mr Gore has finished training 1000 presenters. He has just completed the training of 170 colleagues in the UK.

The Leading Hotels of the World has launched a carbon offsetting program in conjunction with Sustainable Travel International. The consortium will directly offset the energy consumption of guests at any of its 440 hotels worldwide and will make a 50¢ donation for every night of a guest's stay when their reservation is made through the website or reservations centres. The investment per guest represents 29.3 kilowatt-hours of electricity supplied by new wind and solar power, which equates to 15.3kg of greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has won the Destination Award of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s 2007 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards (see Editorial by Tony Charters). The award recognises the efforts by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Marine Park tourism industry. Winners were selected from more than 130 entries from 40 countries across seven continents by a panel of five judges who conducted on site evaluation visits with a team of sustainable tourism experts from around the world. The awards are sponsored by British Airways, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, National Geographic Adventure and Reed Travel Exhibitions.

Further information: http://www.tourismfortomorrow.com/

Skål International is inviting companies from the public and private sector as well as non-government organisations to submit entries for the 6th Ecotourism Awards Program. The awards are aimed at those businesses which promote ecotourism and sustainable development through contribution to the conservation of nature and cultural heritage, community involvement, education, business viability and innovation. Entries are evaluated by independent judges and winners are honoured at the 68th Skål World Congress in Antalya, Turkey on 5 November 2007. Deadline for nominations is 30 June 2007.

Further information: http://www.skal.org

The Travel Industry Association is now accepting entries for the 2007 Odyssey Awards, a premier awards program that recognises the best in the travel and tourism industry from marketing and advertising campaigns to public awareness programs and sustainable tourism. Winners will be presented with their awards at the Marketing Outlook Forum on October 24th in Charlotte, North Carolina. Winners will also be featured in the November / December 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveller magazine. Deadline for entries is 22 June 2007.