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Indigenous tourism must improve, says industry

3 June 2008 - Australia's tourism industry must improve its indigenous tourism offerings after a report found tourists had major problems finding out about them, an industry group says.

Aboriginal flag tourism office Katoomba NSW

A Tourism Research Australia report, released today, interviewed 288 visitors to the Northern Territory last year and found both international and interstate visitors had "major issues" in finding out where to meet and interact with Aboriginal people.

It found 91 per cent of respondents expected to meet Aboriginal people on their NT holiday, with 77 per cent saying it was an "important" part of their trip.

But the report said: "Despite extensive information searches prior to travel, the lack of information in knowing where to go to meet and interact with Aboriginal people was a major issue".

The remoteness of communities and tourists' lack of confidence around Aboriginal people were also notable issues, it said.

Respondents who had enjoyed an indigenous tourism experience ranked museums, cultural centres, art and explanations on hunting, fishing and survival by Aboriginal guides as top experiences.

Touring an Aboriginal community and experiencing indigenous health and wellbeing were low points, respondents said.

Australian Tourism and Export Council (ATEC) chair John King said information and access problems, which were experienced in all states, could be overcome by integrating indigenous tourism with mainstream tourism.

"I think the indigenous tourism experience ought to be made part of the mainstream Australian experience and rather than it being almost seen as a marginal or an add-on," he said.

"It really is at the very core of something that's uniquely Australian that we can offer as a key part of the Australian experience."

Mr King said that while indigenous tourism enterprises had been encouraged, they could also be problematic with operators having little business experience.

He said better partnerships with established, mainstream businesses were needed and the grouping together of different indigenous experiences and other tourism offerings could also overcome the problem of "remoteness" for time-poor tourists.

It was also a common misconception that tourists had to go to the outback to experience Aboriginal culture, he said.

He said Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne all had very good Aboriginal cultural centres in their city centres.

"The indigenous experience shouldn't be seen just as an outback exercise, it's urban as well," he said.

"And similarly it should not be just seen as something that is ancient or traditional, it's very current and contemporary."

Source: The Age

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