Wildlife Tourism, the Potential for KangaroosAUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL ICON
The Myth The common perception in Australia is that native animals in their natural abundance must be a pest and therefore have no value alive. Australia lags behind many third world countries Many other countries recognised the intrinsic value of wildlife in their natural habitat long ago. That recognition has grown into a worldwide viable sustainable tourism industry. This win-win solution is clearly evident in many other countries. Australia is lagging behind in recognising this potential. This is reflected with the international marketing of native animals in tourism which is mostly restricted to animals in captivity and not free ranging animals in their natural habitat. Benefits of wildlife eco tourism to people The link between kangaroos and tourism provides a real opportunity to benefit the rural community in the same way African communities are benefiting from eco tourism. The value of kangaroos in Tourism The value of kangaroos in Tourism was the subject of recent research conducted by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism (CRC) based at Griffith University in Queensland. The CRC is a joint Federal and State Government /Tourism Industry/University partnership aimed at improving the sustainability of Australia’s tourism industry.
Above,trousers made from kangaroo flour bags!
Significant findings. The outcomes of the CRC research have now been published and Include: (1) Kangaroo image as an icon The kangaroo image is second only to the statue of liberty. Americans were asked to identify 20 world tourism icons. Top 5 1: Statue of Liberty 2: Kangaroo 3: Eiffel Tower 4: Koala
5: Canadian Moose
(2) International travelers to Australia were polled at Brisbane and Sydney airports (International Visitors Survey Supplementary 2000 Bureau of Tourism) Significant findings include: · 4% would not have come to Australia if they could not see kangaroos · 50% want to see kangaroos or other wildlife as part of their visit to Australia · 25% do not see the kangaroos they wanted to see · Little information is made available to international tourists on where to see kangaroos in the wild The way forward. Wildlife groups are currently working on a strategic plan to promote Australia’s national icon in Tourism. The strategic plan will be focussing on establishing access to free ranging kangaroos for the international visitor and establishing recognition of the kangaroo to the domestic economy through international tourism. In the long term Australians may come to recognise the value of their national symbol, the kangaroo through the eyes of international tourists.
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