Public trust crucial for ecotourism in Australia’s protected areas

Australians are open to tourism development within national parks and World Heritage sites if it is responsible, low-impact and transparent, University of Queensland research has found.

Professor Brent Ritchie led a team from the UQ Business School which surveyed 1000 Australians about their attitudes towards a range of tourism developments including accommodation, recreational trails or cable cars in protected areas.  

“Australia’s national parks and World Heritage sites hold profound cultural, spiritual and ecological significance,” Professor Ritchie said. 

“Understandably, there is a high level of public scrutiny and governance on any proposed development. 

“We found 68 per cent of people surveyed support tourism in these areas – as long as they trust the organisation managing the project, the costs and benefits are distributed fairly, and they felt engaged in the decision-making process.”

The survey results showed a preference for lower-impact developments such as multi-use recreational trails or gondola/cable cars, and that they not be privately owned.

Accommodation was more likely to be supported if it was smaller in size, such as campsites with communal dining rooms rather than lodges.

Roughly half of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the consent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities would be necessary before tourism developments went ahead.

Fifty-four per cent of respondents agreed local communities would need to give approval. 

Professor Ritchie said the results were encouraging for Queensland’s Destination 2045 plan, which aims to ready the state and provide a legacy from Brisbane 2032. 

“The plan includes 45 new ecotourism projects across the state including trails, dark sky experiences, light footprint accommodation and agritourism.

“This survey helps governments and operators better understand public sentiment toward potential tourism development in protected areas.

“This is critical to foster community trust and support and contribute to the long-term success of projects.”

Read the report published in Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

Collaboration and acknowledgements