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Mr.
Rob Allan
Regional Manager - Great Sandy Region
Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service
Department of Environment & Resource Management
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Tourism
and Protection Through Partnerships
Day
2, 10:00-10:30 |
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Biography
Rob Allan is a Regional Manager
with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
and is responsible for the marine and terrestrial
protected areas of the Great Sandy Region. These
areas total 950,000 hectares stretching along
the Queensland Coast from Noosa in the south
to Baffle Creek (above Bundaberg) in the north
and comprise Cooloola, the Great Sandy Marine
Park and the Fraser Island World Heritage Area.
Rob
joined the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
eleven years ago as General Manger, David Fleay
Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast, followed by
two years as Tourism & Business Development
Manager based at Head Office in Brisbane, before
moving to Hervey Bay to take up his current
role.
His
interest in the behaviour of ‘People on
Parks’ is reflected in his academic qualifications
– B. Soc. Sc. (University of Cape Town)
and M. Env. Man. (University of Queensland)
and in his thesis Sustainable Tourism Development:
a Marketing Perspective, using Fraser Island
as a case study.
Rob
was born in Kenya and has lived and worked in
South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia
(New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland).
At
What Cost? Sustainable Tourism and Wildlife
Conservation
Managing Dingoes in the Fraser Island World
Heritage Area. Over the last 30 years or so,
passionate conservation battles, a Commission
of Inquiry, declaration as a National Park and
listing as a World Heritage Area, coupled with
enormous growth in 4WD and recreational boat
ownership and, more recently, direct jet services
ex Sydney into Hervey Bay, have collectively
increased the profile and accessibility of Fraser
Island as a ‘must see’ tourism destination.
During
this period, visitation has quadrupled from
fewer than 100,000 to nearly 400,000 visitors
per annum and dingoes have become a key tourism
attraction and marketing drawcard for both domestic
and international visitors. It can come as no
surprise that such a huge influx of people and
their associated ‘baggage’ (vehicles,
infrastructure, food, waste, habitat loss, fire,
noise, lighting, camping, fishing, etc) would
be the dingo equivalent of accelerated Climate
Change.
Some
dingoes have swiftly adapted by radically changing
their habits and their behaviour towards people.
In particular, easy food availability from humans
(deliberate or unintended) has meant some dingoes
in high visitor-use areas lose their shyness
and fear of people, leading to habituation which,
in turn, invariably leads to aggression. The
result is dingo attacks on people, particularly
children, and the humane destruction of those
dingoes identified as responsible and dangerous.
Negative
publicity surrounding these events adversely
affects tourism and humane destructions above
a certain level and frequency could compromise
dingo population viability on Fraser Island.
This presentation discusses the environmental,
economic and social costs associated with the
QPWS strategy to achieve safe and sustainable
tourism development without compromising a sustainable
wild dingo population on this iconic World Heritage
property.
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Mr.
Peter Barrett
Charles Sturt University
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Indigenous
Tourism Development
Day
2, 09:00-09:30 |
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Biography
Peter is in the final stages of completing a
Bachelor of Environmental Science degree at
Charles Sturt University, Albury. His degree
contains a mixture of ecotourism, ecology and
natural resource management based subjects which
reflect his growing interest in the natural
world and how people interact with it. Alongside
his tertiary studies, Peter has completed a
Certificate IV in Outdoor Recreation and Natural
Area Restoration Management. Whilst studying
Peter has worked seasonally with Parks Victoria
and volunteered on a number of environmental
programs and initiatives in Cape York, South
West Tasmania and the Albury Wodonga region.
Cross Cultural Learning and Sustainable Tourism
on Atauro Island, Timor Leste (East Timor)
Tourism has the potential to provide significant
social, cultural and economic benefits to Indigenous
communities. Sustainable management of tourism
in Indigenous communities is a central concern
in ensuring that the economic, social, cultural
and environmental impacts of tourism are managed.
Timor Leste (East Timor) faces great challenges
in achieving economic development in a sustainable
manner. Ecotourism offers an opportunity for
locally-based development that could derive
many economic, social and environmental benefits.
This presentation focuses on the cross cultural
experiences gained from a group of Charles Sturt
University students during a visit to Atauro
Island, 30 kilometres north of Dili. The visit
allowed for a two way learning process with
students bringing detailed understanding of
the tourism industry and sustainability issues,
and local community offering perspectives on
their culture, values and experiences of tourism.
The paper reflects on this cultural learning
process and on the contributions to improvement
in sustainable tourism on the island that maximise
the benefits to the local economy, culture,
society and environment.
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Ms.
Sarina Bratton
Founder and Managing Director - Orion Express
Cruises
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Tourism
in Protected Areas
Day
2, 10:00-10:30 |
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Biography
Founder and Managing Director Orion
Expedition Cruises + Chairman, Anthology Pty
Ltd + 2008 NSW Entrepreneur of the Year, Services
sector + 2006 Veuve Clicquot Business Woman
of the Year Award + 2006 inaugural Travel &
Leisure Magazine's - Australian Travel Innovator
Award + 2000 Businesswomen's Hall of Fame +
former Deputy Chair Australian Maritime Safety
Authority + former Director Australian Trade
Commission + former Director Tourism Task Force
+ former founding Chairman, International Cruise
Council Australia + former Vice President &
General Manager, Cunard Line Asia Pacific
Responsible
Marine Tourism
Key eco-sensitive areas where marine tourism
is prevalent include the Kimberley, Tasmania,
Great Barrier Reef, PNG and Antarctica. All
of these are pristine wilderness areas and it
is essential that any development (whether shore
side or from the sea) has sustainabiity at the
core of its development. Sustainabilty, not
just from a footprint perspective, but sustainability
as it relates to indigenous cultures, history
and legacy. Orion Expedition Cruises has been
listed as a Top 100 Blue List global company
for its "Leadership in Responsible Tourism"
and is considered (by IAATO) to set the benchmark
for technical and sustainable operations in
Antarctica. Berlitz Guide has rated OEC as providing
the 2nd best maritime expedition experience
in the world. A number of Australia's pristine
wilderness areas do not have regulated minimum
standards of operation which over time may/will
affect these sensitive eco-systems. What needs
to be done?
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Dr.
Noreen Breakey
Lecturer - School of Tourism, University of
Queensland
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Tourism
and Protection Through Partnerships
Day
2, 09:00-09:30 |
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Biography
Breakey,
Noreen, BBus Tourism (Hons) (UQ), PhD (UQ)
Dr Noreen Breakey specialises in sustainable
and eco tourism, as well as destination management
planning and tourism/hospitality education.
She has over twenty years of experience in
hospitality and tourism, including industry,
government, teaching, and research. Her research
interest is in the sustainable visitor usage
of the world's existing, developing, and potential
tourism destinations. Tamara Vallance is a
Senior Conservation Officer with the Queensland
Department of Environment and Resource Management.
World Heritage – Bringing universities
and government together
World
Heritage listing provides the highest level
of recognition of heritage significance that
can be associated with an area. Presentation
of the world heritage values is an obligation
under the convention. For managers of protected
areas, delivery of such obligations can be
problematic. This has been the case for Riversleigh,
which together with Naracoorte Caves, were
jointly added as the Australian Fossil Mammal
Sites World Heritage Area in 1994. The first
Riversleigh Community and Scientific Advisory
Committee meeting was held in 2007. That same
year the first visitor study at the Riversleigh
World Heritage Site was conducted. This research
has been used to inform the recently developed
Draft Riversleigh Interpretive Plan. The plan
comprehensively reviews interpretation on
and off site, and provides recommendations
to significantly improve the visitor experience.
This paper reports on the visitor research
and the development of the interpretive plan.
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Chris
Buykx
Domestic General Manager
World Expeditions, Tasmanian Expeditions and Australian
Waling Holidays |
Tourism
In Protected Areas
Day
2, 09:00-09:30
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Biography
Chris
originally completed and honours degree in
Earth Sciences in the hope of a career in
the outdoors. However a strong conservation
ethic directed him in to the budding nature
based tourism industry. Chris started with
World Expeditions leading Kakadu and Arnhem
Land expeditions. Chris has gone on to create
and lead treks in the most of throughout Africa
including Morocco, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tanzania,
Kenya, Botswana and Madagascar.
With over a decade operating World Expeditions
extensive Australian treks and adventure program,
Chris has a unique experience of developing
sustainable nature based adventure programs
in almost every Australian state and with
most land management agencies. His dedication
to sustainable travel is reflected in creating
World Expeditions award winning Responsible
Travel Guide Book.
The
Larapinta Trail - Success stories in nature
based tourism destination development
(or
how to get out of the away and let the land
speak for itself)
The Larapinta Trail represents
one of the surprising success stories of recent
years in regional destination and product
development. In 2009 over 2000 trekkers will
enjoy tours and services on the Larapinta
Trail provided by at least 8 local business
that have grown to meet this demand. This
product will be promoted and distributed by
at least 5 global tour operators and countless
wholesalers, online agencies, media and publishing
entities. The Larapinta Trail is one of the
leading drivers in the renewal of Alice Springs
and Central Australia as a destination
The trail
was conceived in the early 1990’s with
World Expeditions pioneering the first commercially
guided treks in 1996. The Larapinta Trail
was only completed by NT parks and Wildlife
in 2002 and it is already vying for the title
of Australia’s greatest long distance
trekking destination (long way to go before
it catches up to Tasmania’s Overland
Track with more than 9000 trekkers).
The growth
story is an interesting example of unplanned
yet complimentary developments between Government
land managers and tourism agencies on one
side and the commercial tour operators on
the other side.
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Dr.
Paul Campbell
Principal Consultant - Cogentia
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Sustainablility
and Climate Change
Day
2, 10:00-10:30 |
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Biography
Dr Paul
Campbell is the principal consultant at Cogentia,
a consultancy specialising in the commercial
impacts of climate change, green IT and how
business can effectively respond to changing
consumer perceptions. Paul assists organisations
deal with the business impacts of climate
change by:
briefing senior management on the implications
of legislation and the latest climate change
issues
identifying business risks associated with
climate change and formulating mitigation
strategies.
educating staff in their role in reducing
the organisation’s carbon footprint
Paul regularly lectures on industry practice,
green IT and has served on many government
committees.
Paul obtained his PhD in ecological modeling
from the University of Queensland for his
study of the flora and fauna of Fraser Island.
He has traveled extensively around regional
and remote Australia and is currently building
a commercial website to service the needs
of Grey Nomads and outback travelers.
Outrunning
your Competitors in the face of the Climate
Change Grizzly Bear
Irrespective of the causes and extent of global
warming, the perception of climate change
is REAL and is now shaping the behaviour of
governments and consumers alike. Tourism in
Australia is in the front line experiencing
the commercial impacts of these changing attitudes
so now is the time to prepare your company.
As a business owner there are key things you
need to know about the likely impact of impending
government actions and key steps you can take
to improve the competitive position of your
company. My presentation will cover the impacts
of legislation, how to prepare a flexible,
cost effective strategy to gain competitive
advantage and the impact of internet based
social networking on your marketing strategies.
Most importantly I will discuss why the regional
impacts of climate change can create commercial
opportunities for companies who make the right
decisions at the appropriate time.
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Tran
Xuan Cuong
Chief, Department of Scientific Studies and
International Cooperation
Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An Province, Vietnam |
Tourism
in Protected Areas
Day
2, 14:30-15:00 |
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Western
Nghe An Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam: Biodivsersity
Conservation and Ecotourism Development
This presents an eco-tourism effort relating
poverty reduction within the UNESCO-MAB biosphere
reserve. The Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve
(WNBR) covers over one million ha including
thee core zones of Pu Mat National Park, Pu
Hoat and Pu Huong Nature Reserve. These protected
areas are listed among the highest priority
sites for biodiversity conservation in Vietnam.
Recently, around 2,500 species of vascular plant;
132 species of mammal; 86 species of amphibians
and reptiles; 84 species of fish, and thousand
species of insect have been reported. Among
these species, there are 63 species of plant,
27 species of animal that are considered to
be globally threatened and endangered. Ecotourism
activities are based on an area of outstanding
natural beauty and cultural and natural diversity.
To preserve biodiversity by improving the living
conditions of local people (Thai, O du, and
H’mong ethnic minorities) where a highest
rate poverty in the country, the aim of developing
eco-tourism to enhance local incomes was focused.
To respond to this aim, the Pu Mat National
Park has increased the participation of local
communities in eco-tourism by the negotiation
of an ecotourism development plan. The plan
was backed up by investments in human resources
and facility development that allow local communities
greater opportunity to providing tourism services
that the poorest people benefit from tourism.
This is contributing the implementation of UNESCO-MAB
Madrid Action Plan in using biosphere reserves
as learning laboratories for sustainable development
in Vietnam and the report discuss also a new
approach of integrating livelihood improvement
of local people into the efforts of biodiversity
conservation. |
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Ecotourism
Austrlaia’s annual conference. Global ecotourism
conference. International ecotourism conference.
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