A shared journey: Australia’s National Landscapes Program

Overview

1. Australia’s National Landscapes Program – an introduction

2. How does the Program work?

3. Partnerships – at many levels

4. Some highlights and challenges

5. Where to from here?

The Program

Australia’s National Landscapes

Aims of the program

• Promote world class, high quality visitor experiences

• Enhance the value of tourism to regional economies

• Increase the role of protected areas in those economies

• Build support for protecting our natural and cultural assets

A long term strategic approach to tourism & conservation

To differentiate Australia’s iconic natural and cultural destinations from anything else available in

the world.

Program implementation framework:

A Program implementation framework: streamline Program activities, steering committee work programs and progress reporting.

Program status

• 15 National Landscapes formally recognised

• Sydney Harbour is advancing its candidacy

• 16 landscapes have been confirmed as the Program’s current limit.

The final sixteen

Achieving the potential

Seeing the results

Setting the foundation

Awareness and Establishment

2012

2020 strategic direction

Program Managers

(Parks Australia and Tourism Australia)

National Landscapes Reference Committee

Local Steering Committees

Economic development Indigenous interests Conservation NGOs

STOs

RTOs Local councils Tourism operators Parks agencies

Partnerships

• Opportunity to grow awareness of nature in Australia – eg Wildlife and natural events calendars

• Support for conservation of natural areas and biodiversity

• Access to complementary expertise and networks of stakeholders

• Growing tourism outcomes

Tourism Australia and Parks Australia

Wildiaries Pilot Project

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Australia’s Red Centre - Indigenous Tourism Business Development Group

- Consolidated and focused efforts in the region

- Using existing networks, streamlined activity

- 4 new products in development

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Kangaroo Island

- National Landscapes status is used as to generate community participation / pride

“we are one of only 16 regions endorsed as a National Landscape – the best Australia has to offer –

by Tourism Australia and Parks Australia”

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Wet Tropics

- encouraged participation of a ‘new generation of leaders’

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Development and promotion of tourism experiences from the consumer perspective...

- Australian Alps (Vic / NSW / ACT):

- Australia’s Coastal Wilderness (Vic/NSW)

- Australia’s Green Cauldron

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Linkages with broader initiatives:

- Wet Tropics, Greater Blue Mountains, Ningaloo-Shark Bay: World Heritage status and links to WH Committees

- The Kimberley: Kimberley Science and Conservation Strategy

• Story Teller groups have now been established in most Landscapes.

• Over the past 12 months, the Stories Tellers produced 109 news articles. These were distributed to journalists worldwide.

• 49 factsheets, feature stories and itineraries

were created to share the National Landscape messages with Media, Consumers and Trade. The media site attracted 21,981 visitors accessing this information.

• Tourism Australia’s International Media Hosting

Program hosted 270 media visits throughout the 13 launched Landscapes.

• 691 images have been downloaded from the

Tourism Australia National Landscapes image gallery collection.

Some highlights from the Landscapes

Some highlights from the Landscapes

$1 million Strategic Tourism Investment Grant (STIG) Project, administered by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism - Completion of Experience Development Strategies and priority projects - Matched $-for-$

Some observations

Opportunities:

- Long term nature of the Program

- Focus on ‘experiences’ and visitor ‘emotional connections’ to the landscape

- Working with influence - not authority

- The Program’s evolution... Sound concepts applied, recognising many variables

The year ahead....

• Increasing conservation outcomes – connecting stakeholders

• Enhance projects such as the Wildlife and natural events Calendars and Wildiaries - maximise the content

• Strengthening Steering Committees

• Supporting STIG implementation

Find out more...

www.tourism.australia.com/nl

www.environment.gov.au/parks

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