NESP TWQ Round 4 - Project 4.7 - Indigenous Coral Reef Tourism
Despite the seemingly abundant opportunities, Indigenous Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef appear to show little interest in participating in the lucrative coral reef tourism industry. This project seeks to understand why this is so, canvass TO attitudes to the industry, map out the opportunities for their participation in both mainstream and Indigenous-initiated ventures, and provide an assessment of current obstacles and what can be done to mitigate them. Research will be undertaken through a combination of surveys (e.g., of tourism industry literature), consultations with TO groups and regulatory authorities, and interviews with mainstream tourism operators (and their representative bodies). The project will result in a report with recommendations relevant to TO groups interested in coral reef tourism, mainstream tourism stakeholders and enterprises, industry bodies and regulatory and management authorities.