'Indigenous tourism'
Meaningful visitor descriptions?
Despite the use of such terms by the tourism industry itself, visitors rarely
describe themselves as 'cultural tourists' or 'wine tourists' or 'indigenous tourists'.* (Even 'eco' or nature tourists would
not normally be a tag casually used by travelers fitting such a description.)
And at worst, because there are really no
such terms in popular use amongst visitors, the risk is that incautious use of these market descriptions by the tourism industry
can potentially limit our understanding of 'who any such travelers really are' and 'how they are best reached and served'.
If anything, visitors with a genuinely keen interest in nature and cultural tourism (including learning
about indigenous cultures) are less likely to be one-dimensional in their behavior or easily categorized in market terms. Instead - like the majority of tourists - they are usually hoping to enjoy a wider mix of interesting
and beneficial experiences (including good food, activity, relaxation and accommodation options) when they decide to
travel for pleasure.
(*This is not to say that such segmentation efforts don't serve some
of the practical market research needs of tourism - as the
industry toils to achieve more effective planning as well as better
targeted marketing outcomes.)
Indigenous tourism: Basic development issues
Considerations for success:
-
Tourism remains a challenging and competitive industry
for all players - new, old, indigenous and non-indigenous.
-
Realistic expectations and understandings are always needed. As is
a high & essential degree of cooperation.
-
The likely advantages & disadvantages (impacts as well as benefits) must
be clear.
-
Business basics (management, market research, planning, marketing, product appeal, tourism skills/training, sales targets,
sufficient resource & capital investment, networking & partnerships, etc.) are essential to success.
-
A step by step project
approach that is inclusive and practical (in which 'success can build upon success') can be beneficial.
-
Integrity,
imagination and authenticity have increasingly become fundamental to sustaining reputation and providing satisfying
visitor experiences.
-
Advance community agreement is vital over what can be culturally shared and what cannot and the basic visitor
etiquettes that will be required.
Our experience shows that the most successful indigenous tourism ventures are essentially 'mainstream'
tourism operations ... but with the indigenous bonus.
That indigenous bonus includes some intrinsic, indigenous sources
of strength in building imaginative and appealing visitor experiences. These include -
-
Cultural depth and authenticity.
-
Cultural distinctiveness,
beliefs and codes of behavior based on millennia of local community experience and interaction with the natural world.
-
Truly unique
traditions of art & design, medicine, food, dance, storytelling ... and cultural survival.
-
A capacity to help receptive visitors
move beyond their normal boundaries of thought, perception and interaction.
In essence, tourism is founded on experiences
... and such powerful storytelling traditions can prove fundamental to their successful creation.
Some key business
success factors
A key success factor that strongly affects the sustainability of indigenous tourism initiatives remains
achieving an appropriate balance between cultural integrity and responsiveness to market demand. (And changing market circumstances.)
Appropriate
proximity and accessibility to visitor markets is normally an additional factor of special significance.
Culturally, community
consultation and approval processes remain a key to project success as well, with indigenous tourism ventures.
Finally,
sustainable tourism practices are closely tied to sustainable tourism and environmental values - another
potential advantage to
indigenous initiatives given the traditional importance of personal & social values to their communities.
TCDS
can assist indigenous communities, agencies and operators with the development of tourism assessments, strategies, attractions
or experiences and related initiatives.
Our experience includes the development of state and regional strategies for
indigenous tourism in consultation with indigenous communities and tourism operators. Further project work has encompassed
the research and publication, in association with the indigenous stakeholders, of a set of widely adopted
principles
and
protocols for developing Aboriginal tourism products in Australia.
