Indigenous initiative
A landmark initiative to promote Indigenous experiences and turn it into a $500m visitor economy is here.
Aimed at boosting the number of visitors enjoying an Indigenous experience from 12 to 30 per cent by 2032, the Tourism Tropical North Queensland First Nations action plan was launched on Thursday to develop First Nations tourism offerings for domestic and international visitors.
TTNQ chief executive Mark Olsen lauded the steering committee’s consultations, doing 30 workshops involving different languages and communities.
“Twelve per cent of visitors coming to the region have an Indigenous experience,” Mr Olsen said.
“This steering committee said that was not enough and said they will raise it to 20 per cent in five years, 30 per cent by the time of the Olympics.”
The $100m Indigenous experiences visitor economy would become a $500m visitor economy experience in 2032, he said.
While he acknowledged the gap with Indigenous experiences attracting only 3 per cent of domestic tourists compared to 37 per cent of international visitors, Mr Olsen said school groups, Top End touring and mainstream families have all been diving into Indigenous experiences in the region in recent times.
Everything from working with art, working on country as a ranger, new eco accommodation, to fishing and guided tours would be available to visitors with a database of another 100 products in the offing, he said.
Tropical North Queensland Indigenous Experiences Cluster Group chair Dale Mundraby said the state government’s financial and physical support was a means of driving change through opportunity.
“Creating Indigenous experiences helps closing the gap of our education and improves our wellbeing environmentally and culturally as it brings respect for ourselves, country and will help reduce the crime rate,” Mr Mundraby said.
TTNQ will be hosting The Indigenous Tourism exchange in a few weeks to further showcase implementation of the Action Plan.