Sustainable Resources
Mission
To deliver, and promote the uptake and application of, nationally strategic knowledge
and knowledge-based products in order to facilitate enhanced economic, environmental,
social and cultural sustainability of tourism in natural areas.
Scope
Tourism based on natural areas, with a focus on protected areas, and including both
natural and cultural heritage.
- The cultural heritage component potentially includes Indigenous tourism (defined
as tourism based on Indigenous culture)- potentially covering all aspects, including
enterprise development issues, but principally in terms of the component occurring
in natural areas.
- Includes issues facing nature-based tourism operators with regard to their use of
natural areas (especially protected areas)
- Environmental management of tourism in non-natural areas falls within the Sustainable
Destinations Program.
Internationally, Australia is perceived as a clean, green destination. The natural
environment is a key element of Australia’s global tourism appeal and is an attribute
that differentiates Australia from competing tourism destinations globally. Australia’s
Protected Areas contribute the key elements of this international image.
Many of Australia’s most important and globally recognised tourism icons are located
within Protected Areas (such as National Parks, Marine Parks, Historic Sites, Coastal
Reserves, Recreation Parks, and Conservation Areas) or on public land such as State
Forests. These attractions are of great importance to the Australian tourism industry.
For Australia’s tourism industry to reach its full potential it is vital that Protected
Areas are adequately funded and managed; that they provide high quality visitor
experiences; and that they are promoted effectively, while ensuring the protection
of their conservation values. It is time that Protected Areas became a national
tourism priority.
Tourism in Protected Areas provides significant economic benefits to both regional
areas and the Australian economy as a whole. For example, if the Cape Tribulation
section of Daintree National Park (in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area) did not
exist, it is estimated that over $100 million per annum in visitor expenditure would
be lost from the Port Douglas region (Sustainable Tourism CRC Report by Lindberg
& Denstadli, 2003). Furthermore, there are 2,778 jobs in the local area that rely
on tourist expenditures, comprising 39.5% of local jobs (against a national average
of 6.0% employment in tourism) (Tourism Employment Atlas, TTF 2001).
In recent years, the tourism potential of Australian Protected Areas has been a
vital element in the arguments put forward for increased ‘Protected Area’ designation.
It is critical that the appreciation and awareness of Protected Areas by visitors
is effectively communicated to all levels of government, as political support is
vital for conservation.
This text is taken from Griffin, T., Vacaflores, M.,
Buckley, R., Wearing, S., Nelson, H. and Higginbottom, K. (2004). A Natural Partnership:
Making National Parks a Tourism Priority. TTF Australia & CRC for Sustainable Tourism,
Sydney.
Current Research Projects
Sustainable Resources Project Summaries Update May 2008
The Steering Committee’s Role:
- Provide input into determination of research topics - through advising on priorities
of their own organisations and direct involvement in the research topic development
process (in practice, the steering committee has been the primary driver of the
research agenda)
- Provide input into development of research projects – through commenting on project
briefs and draft proposals.
- Coordinate the designation of industry reference group members for each project
in which the agency is to be directly involved.
- Provide feedback to the program leader regarding any common issues of interest and
any concerns regarding CRC operation.
- Work with program leader and project leaders to coordinate appropriate dissemination
and uptake of research outcomes.
Input is principally in the form of one face-to-face meeting per year, an additional
teleconference if required, and occasional email correspondence.
Steering committee members are required to attend one national meeting per year
at the cost of their agency, to provide email feedback on circulated
documents (which may in some cases require obtaining an 'agency view' on an issue),
and to help facilitate liaison between their organisation and researchers (including
finding suitable representatives. for project reference groups, where the project is of particular
interest to the agency).
Steering Committee Members
Latest minutes
download
Industry Reference
Groups
Please click on the following links to access a collection of technical report executive
summaries. Full text publications are available from the Sustainable Tourism CRC
online bookshop in both hardback and PDF format.
Please click on the following link to access a list of academic publications from
Sustainable Resources researchers.
Academic Publications
2008