TOURISM AND THE KIMBERLEY COASTAL WATERWAYS

Geographical Research, 2008

Marine tourism is an important component of nature-based tourism in the Kimberley Region of northern Western Australia. It offers a wide range of passive and active recreational activities in near-pristine wilderness areas. Marine tourism in the region is recognised as a growth sector having expanded rapidly since 2000, and it is unusual in that growth has been limited by a lack of vehicular access points to the coast. This unplanned growth has been irregular. A marked downturn in visitation by yachts has coincided with an increase in visits by charter boats. Although only five bush camps are established along the coast, boat visits occur at approximately 216 locations that are all subject to potential environmental damage. The extent to which this unplanned industry can be sustained without jeopardising environmental, social and economic values remains open to question.

Journal of Ecotourism, 2009

The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &

ABSTRACT The value of aquatic systems for biodiversity, agriculture, pastoralism and mining is widely recognised, whereas their significance for tourism and recreation is often poorly acknowledged. We surveyed protected-area managers, local governments and tour operators (river and general) to determine how aquatic systems were used in inland Australia for tourism and recreation and the perceived impacts of these uses. Inland waterbodies were reported by all respondent groups to be highly significant foci for visitors. Natural features were rated as more important to visitors than infrastructure by protected-area managers and river-tour operators, whereas all respondent groups identified water clarity, water quality and accessibility to water as important aspects of visitor appeal. Although >75% of respondents nominated visitors as being environmentally aware, visitors were reported to have a range of negative effects on the ecological condition of inland waterbodies, especially on water quality, and to also increase erosion and the loss of fringing vegetation. Managing the recreational use of inland waterbodies will become increasingly important as demand from all sectors intensifies and climate-change impacts become more severe. Management must take into account variations in perceptions by different stakeholder groups and the paradox of inappropriate visitor behaviour despite visitors’ apparent environmental awareness.

Regional Environmental Change, 2008

This paper is concerned with the sustainable development of a self-drive tourist destination in the remote region in Northern Australia. It first compares officially used data on visitor profiles to the information collected in the survey. Differences between data collected and available secondary data imply that tourism planning should include collection of region-specific tourism information to guide and mitigate potential environmental changes. Natural landscape features are the key attraction for visitors to the region. Visitor satisfaction levels with the current state of the destination are high. However, local residents reported perceived negative impacts of tourism, in particular on amenities and the ecology of the landscape. Visitors also reported behavior that might contribute to environmental impacts. Implications of the findings, in the context of future destination planning, are discussed.

This is the first report from the “Values and aspirations for coastal waters of the Kimberley” research project funded by the Western Australian Government and administered by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (Kimberley Research Node Project 2.1.2). The study area extends from the south western end of Eighty Mile Beach to the Northern Territory Border, a coastline 13,296 km in length at low water mark including the islands. The aim of this 3-year research project is to document and analyse the social values and aspirations of people associated with the existing and proposed marine parks at Eighty Mile Beach, Roebuck Bay, Lalang-garram (Camden Sound) and North Kimberley, and with other coastal waters of the Kimberley. This report provides results from 167 in-depth interviews (232 people in total) and associated participatory mapping. The interviews and mapping were undertaken to identify and describe stakeholders’ values regarding the coastline and marine environment...

CAUTHE 2006: To the City and Beyond, 2006

To cite this article: Lade, Clare. Tourism Clusters on the Murray River: Success Factors and Barriers [online]. In: Whitelaw, Paul A (Editor); Barry, O'Mahony G (Editor). CAUTHE 2006: To the City and Beyond. Footscray, Vic.: Victoria University. School of Hospitality, Tourism and ...

Cultural ecosystem services have received increasing attention in land/marine use planning but remain poorly known, expressed, and utilised in planning processes. Progress in marine spatial planning requires better information regarding the full range of values and benefits received from ecosystem services, including cultural ecosystem values. This paper reports on an online Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) study that collected spatially explicit information on cultural ecosystem values in the remote Kimberley coastal region in northwestern Australia. The coastal zone e 20 km landwards and seawards e was found to be highly valued with values disproportionally located 0e2 km onshore. The number of value markers placed was related to tenure, access (i.e., density of tracks), population density, and geo-morphology. Methodologically, Public Participation GIS describes the location and extent of values providing for the exploration of relationships between values and other planning features such as tenure and coastal access. Inclusion of such information in marine spatial planning and policy formulation can contribute to more thoughtful and inclusive decisions regarding the future of coastal zones. The use of internet-based Public Participation GIS is particularly useful for long, remote coastlines with widely dispersed stakeholder interests where other methods such as interviews and workshops are not feasible.

Since the 1980s, the Gold Coast has consistently ranked as the third most popular destination among Australian cities for domestic travellers (after Melbourne and Sydney) and fourth or fifth most popular destination for international travellers. Tourism has been and remains central to the development of the city of Gold Coast: it is the main economic activity and source of employment within the city. In 2013, tourism sustained more than 30 000 direct jobs in the city, and directly contributed $4.7 billion to the economy (City of Gold Coast 2014a), demonstrating its importance to the Gold Coast. Tourism has also directly influenced the Coast's urban landscape, with the numerous high-rise buildings along the coastline being iconic features of the city. Development along the coastal strip has been prolific and led to three quite distinct areas: a densely populated, high-rise coastal beach area, surrounded by suburban sprawl and backed by a green semi-rural hinterland containing a small population – the 'green behind the gold' (Potts et al. 2013, p. 323). Most of the hotels and resorts are located in the northern precincts of the city at Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, while the southern end of the Gold Coast is characterised by mostly older accommodation stock (Dredge and Jamal 2013). The hin-terland has a distinct character, containing Queensland first national park (Frost 2004) and small-scale, dispersed tourism developments, such as health retreats, chalets and lodges, and bed and breakfast accommodation, as well as local art and craft, food and wine and nature-based tourism experiences. This chapter seeks to understand the role of tourism in the development of this city by exploring how the northern Gold Coast (around Southport and Surfers Paradise) was able to out-compete two historical competitor regions (first Sandgate, then Coolangatta) but now faces competition at a global scale. The historical expansion of the Gold Coast as a site of tourism began late in the nineteenth century. At that time, the coastal resort of Sand-gate, now part of metropolitan Brisbane, was the main competitor for Southport, and both resorts developed facilities and attractions modelled on the well-known and popular Eng-lish resorts of the time, such as Brighton and Blackpool. Eventually Southport became the preeminent calm water resort when an early governor of Queensland established a holiday house there. In the first half of the twentieth century, following changes in swimming habits and development of Australian beach culture, the focus of tourist activity in the northern Gold Coast shifted to Surfers Paradise with its surf beaches. During this period, Surfers Paradise faced competition from Coolangatta on the southern end of the Gold Coast. In the 071501 Off The Plan 1pp.indd 31 19/07/2015 13:03:02

2008

SUMMARY The growth of cultural industries and tourist industries is an important characteristic of modern developed economies like Australia. These industries intersect in a field known as cultural tourism. Cultural tourism is now recognised as an important agent of economic and social change in contemporary western societies such as Australia. Cultural tourism includes tourism to traditional cultural attractions such as museums and galleries, but it also incorporates new forms of tourism associated with cultural activities. They ...