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Push to tap SA’s nature tourism potential

May 14, 2015
Tourists kayaking on Cooper Creek in Innamincka Regional Reserve.

Tourists kayaking on Cooper Creek in Innamincka Regional Reserve.

Tourism industry representatives across South Australia are this week workshopping ideas to increase tourism based around the state’s national parks, reserves and waterways.

The series of forums will contribute towards the development of a draft nature-based tourism action plan, with project manager Chris Thomas saying this type of tourism already generates more than $1 billion in spending in SA each year.

“The ‘green’ traveller is certainly the fastest-growing sector of the industry,” said Thomas, marine parks manager at the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR).

“Obviously we have a premium food and wine brand in South Australia, but almost 50 per cent of visitors come here for some kind of nature-based experience.

“”It’s a niche … we’ve got all the wonderful features, we just need to get better organised and market them and tap into them.”

Thomas said the project aimed to create jobs and stimulate the economy following the loss of other key industries in South Australia. This is in line with the State Government’s target of creating 10,000 new tourism jobs by 2020.

More than 230 online responses and seven written submissions were received in answer to a “your say” questionnaire and discussion document on nature-based tourism put out to industry operators last month. The workshops this week are being held on Kangaroo Island (yesterday), Adelaide (today), Mouth Gambier (Wednesday), Port Augusta (Thursday), Port Lincoln (Friday) and the Riverland (May 12).

When the questionnaire was released in early April, Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said the aim was to encourage ideas from industry “to help South Australia find new ways of delivering exceptional visitor experiences in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable tourism”.

The discussion paper said comments were wanted on ideas such as identifying new wildlife and “hands-on” experiences and tours, developing Indigenous cultural tourism, introducing wi-fi to parks and reserves, promoting wildlife experiences close to Adelaide, and opening heritage building sites to commercial management. Consumer marketing is also part of the discussion.

Environment Minister Ian Hunter said the state’s landscapes had huge potential for further worldwide recognition. However, he also added that nature-based tourism opportunities must be appropriate and sustainable.

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island.

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island.

Thomas said a key aim of the project was to clarify the roles of government and industry, ascertaining how they could better work together to offer more “enriched” tourism experiences and improved visitor satisfaction.

While some in the industry are keen to see a reduction in red tape, the pay-off could be more contribution from tourism operators towards nature conservation and education.

“What we’re looking at is could we have a more partnership-driven approach, because we basically need each other,” Thomas said.

“There’s a nice partnership opportunity here and we don’t think we’ve done enough in this space.”

The action plan is being jointly developed by the DEWNR and the SA Tourism Commission, with the goal of releasing a draft document in June. After that, members of the public will have an opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

About 20 tourism industry representatives attended the first of the workshops yesterday on Kangaroo Island, where Thomas said issues raised included the length of permits for tour operator access to national parks and concern over lack of internet connectivity.

The SA Nature-Based Tourism Discussion Paper can be viewed here. Members of the tourism industry interested in attending one of the workshops listed above should contact [email protected].

 

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