Abstract
Extract:
Introduction:Tourism is well accepted as an important contributor to the economy and sustainable development of regional areas in Australia. Tourism is often advocated as a means to diversify economic conditions in rural and regional areas by providing alternative sources of employment and income generation arising from fluctuations and downturns in traditional industries such as agriculture and forestry, depressed commodity prices, and drought conditions. Furthermore, tourism can contribute to the enhancement of regional areas through public and private sector investment in new infrastructure and facilities. As at December 2008, 52 percent of expenditure by domestic overnight visitors, 58 percent of domestic day visitors and 20 percent of international visitor expenditure was spent in regional areas of Australia ($23.2 billion, $8.2 billion respectively and $26.4 billion).
Over the next decade, however, the domestic and international tourism environment globally and within Australia is predicted to be dynamic, aggressively competitive and increasingly volatile attributable to the current global financial crisis that has led to falls in consumer and investor confidence. Given the significance of tourism to the Australia’s regional economies and the volatility of domestic tourism in Australia, it is imperative that tourism is maintained and enhanced as an economic driver for the local economy, but planned and managed in a sustainable way to enhance and conserve the natural environment, protect the well-being of the residents and attract visitors with shared values.