Paper presented at the World Travel Market/World Responsible Tourism Day 2013: London

What is tourism and heritage's economic contribution to conservation and communities? Currently Australia tourism research statistics indicate very broad figures, for example overnight expenditure at AUD$188 per night for Culture and Heritage Visitors compared to $159 per night by other tourists. Day Cultural and Heritage visitors spend $133 per excursion compared to $100 by other day visitors (Tourism Research Australia 2009)

The new Green Kangaroo Starter Kit was launched today by the Kangaroo Valley Tourist Association, and is a good example of an evolutionary step forward in community led sustainability initiatives. This particular programme has run for over four years and the new Starter Kit seeks to engage tourism providers who want to become more eco-friendly and use their actions to attract more customers by:

Our focus in Australia appears to concentrate predominantly on the economy and potential changes in government. Meanwhile we have just experienced the ‘Angry Summer’ a prelude to what may lay in store for our future and demonstrated that tourism needs to do much more to prevent and be prepared for bush fires. However, tourism providers and communities appear to be either in denial, have other priorities or simply cannot afford to take steps to protect themselves and their visitors.