Discuss about the Role of Tourism as Key Economic Activity in Australia.
Austalian continet attracts a large number of tourists from the entire world because of its biological diversity, flora, fauna, species for which it is regarded as one of the developed nation with a megadiverse status. The two major factors that attract the tourists in any country are the natural endownments that add to the countr’s beauty and the business opportunities. The tourism sector is a fastest growing industry that plays a significant role in the economic and social development of the country. The Tourism sector of any country has the potential to kindle another sector of the market (travel sector, hotels and hospitality industry) because of its cross synergistic benefits and its forward and backward connections. The Tourism sector in Australia provides funds to the major economic infrastructure likes roads, airports, hotels and helps in making a connection with people outside the country (Australian Government, 2016).
Travel & Tourism sector in Australia directly contributed to GDP in the year 2015 amounting Australian Dollar 43.8bn (which was 2.9% of total GDP) and is expected to increase by 4.9% in 2016, and to increase by 3.2% every year from 2016-2025, to Australian Dollar 62.1bn (3.0% of total GDP) in the year 2025. The visitor exports produced Australian Dollar 21.1bn (6.5% of total exports) in the year 2015. It is expected to increase by 4.3% in 2016, and rise by 2.5% every year, from the year 2016-2026, to Australian Dollar 26.9bn in the year 2026 (5.6% of the total). The Tourism sector provides job opportunities to almost 500,000 people and earns approximately 10% of total export earnings which makes it the largest export sector (Tourism Australia, 2013).
From the above survey report, it is clear that tourism sector plays a significant role in economic development of the country by adding to its GDP, providing job opportunities and supports other major sectors of the country.
Tourism sector affects the society and economy of the country in both positive and negative way. On one hand tourism adds to the GDP of the country and on another hand it affects the natural habitat of the country and may cause a disturbance in the lifestyle of local communities. Australia itself is involved in a number of activities such as mining which helps in overall growth and development of the country but it also has a negative and positive impact on the tourism sector. It has been analyzed that the mining boom that started in the year 2000 has attracted a large number of tourists to the country and on another hand it has distracted others also. The mining industry has given business opportunities to the people from other countries which add to a number of tourists to the country and on another hand the increased dollar has made the visit expensive.
The major attraction of Australia i.e. The Great Barrier Reef and Kimberly are the most important economic and environmental assets which is being affected by the increased mining demands and high shipping activities. The natural values of the Great Barrier Reef are affected adversely by the mining activities and the “Alpha Coal Project” which actually adds to the economic wealth of the country but on another hand is affecting the natural beauty of the place and creating disturbance in the life of aquatic animals. The Kimberley is famous in Australia for its natural beauty, biological and cultural diversity. It has been recorded that the Kimberley has not seen any mammal extinction which shows that how the habitat has been conserved for them. But the proposed plan of a Gas Hub “James Price Point” will threaten the natural values of this place and will reduce the number of tourists at this place (Adams, 2012).
The above information simply reveals that how the natural beauty and resources are being affected by the Political dominance of mining activities which will continually degrade the natural assets of the country and will consequently minimize the number of tourists in Australia. Therefore there is a great need to maintain a balance amongst the various human activities for which sustainable development is required that reserve the resources for future as well without compromising the present needs (Bailey & Marshall, 2013).
Sustainability or sustainable development is defined as a form of progress in which the present needs of the people is met without compromising the opportunity of the future generation to meet their needs. Sustainable development does not only mean looking after the natural environment and resources it also refers to the social and economic impact of human activities (Tourism Australia corporate website, 2015). There are a number of challenges associated with Sustainable Tourism in Australia which involves management and development of tourist spots and services and also keeps in consideration that it offers the benefits to the local people while improving and protecting the natural resources of the country.
There is a close connection between sustainable development and tourism because of the two reasons. Firstly, tourism is regarded as the strongest industry in the world and the major resources that it uses for the development are the natural endowments, historical and cultural places in the world. This is the reason that the tourism contribution is extremely high in global business and economic trends and it also affects the quality of life in the regional areas which are used as the tourist spots. It has been analyzed that Mass Tourism has negative effects on the natural resources of the country as it destroys and endangers the natural habitat, causes soil and water pollution, creates noise and disturbs the local residents. The tourist sometimes does not take into account the culture, tradition and religion of the local communities and may respond them indifferently. Secondly, the sustainable tourism maintains a balance in the economic development of the restrictions implemented by the needs of local communities and environment Sustainable tourism has a nominal effect on the local culture and environment, but it makes a great contribution to the overall development as it helps to generate job opportunities for local people and brings a wonderful experience for tourists and the tourism companies (Kostic & Jovanovic-Toncev, 2014).
The number of approaches that helps in sustainable development of tourism are system thinking approach, diversification, localization and resilience which can be applied to the natural resources conservation in Australia which are being degraded due to various business activities. System Thinking approach is mainly used for sustainable development which is a scientific approach in which the whole system in being focussed along with its constituent parts, then a framework is provided to manage the complexity of the system and then the decision makers are allowed to analyze the long term results of their actions and finally agreeing upon one decision with mutual understanding of all the stakeholders. In this case, where the main focus is to protect the natural endowments which also offers mining opportunities it is required to face the challenge of the situation in a systematic way. System thinking allows the stakeholders to realize what is more important for a country that helps in its economic growth for which they should think how their selfish activities are going to disturb the natural habitat and tourists. This approach can help in a better way to understand the entire situation and helps in making necessary decisions to achieve sustainable development in tourism (Mai & Maani, 2010).
Another approach that helps in the sustainable development of tourism is through the resilience of social and ecological system of Australia. It is related the extent to which the system can absorb the changes or shock and remains in the similar state in which it was. It is also related to the extent to which the natural system can organize itself and adapt to the changes. The system of the country faces a number of challenges and in this case it is difficult for them to decide that mining should be given more importance or tourism. To such situation, Resilience is the best solution that allows them to maintain the balance amongst the both in which mining should be done to that extent that it does not affect the natural beauty of the place (Folke, et al., 2002).
Diversification is crucial for sustainable development of tourism and competitiveness in Australia for which is required to evaluate the current tourism product of the country. Diversification is related to culture, natural and recreational activities that attracts a number of tourists to the country. In general people are more attracted towards variations and diversity and with diversification the present needs can be easily met without any compromise with the future needs and hence helps in achieving the sustainable tourism development (The World Tourism Organization, 2016).
These approaches help in maintaining a balance amongst the natural resources conservation and various business activities which will help in promotion of tourism in Australia. It has been proved from various researches that tourism in promoted in any country by its natural and serene beauty and the business opportunities as well for which a strategy has to be planned that helps to achieve various benefits through sustainability
There are a number of benefits that are offered through sustainable tourism. Firstly, it increases the number of tourists by the promotion of sustainability testimonial to green savvy people who makes their buying decisions on the basis of reducing their own footprint. Secondly, it minimizes the operating costs by taking the responsibilities of minimizing the water and energy consumption and produces less waste. It helps in achieving the competitive advantage by developing and promotion the sustainability which acts a point of difference. It attracts a large number of valuable staff by following the policies with a consideration of their values and interest. It also encourages the investors to make an investment in those companies that has long term sustainability plans as it reduces the operational risks in the future. Also it helps in raising the profitability for the long term by putting plans in action that helps in creating savings for the future like reducing the cost of transportation which increases with an increase in fuel prices (Turner, 2015).
Therefore from the above facts and figures it can be realized that tourism plays a significant role in economic development of the country and also meets the other needs of environment and society for which it is required to accept that sustainable development should be applied at all levels by the government to promote tourism and tourist activities. There has to be a rational and executive management of the natural resources which will help in the cultural, social and economic development of the country and that will lead to growth and development for long-term. It is required that the positive effect of tourism should be increased on the environment, cultural values, natural resources, and integrity of the local communities. To exploit all the potential of natural resources with a purpose of preserving the natural ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity, it is required that the rules and act should be followed as per the principles of sustainable tourism. There are a number of approaches that helps in the sustainable development of tourism and they should be adopted to maintain a balance amongst the business activities with a concern of maintaining the natural habitat as well. Holistic and integrated approach to the should be applied to all the factors, beginning with the state government, non-governmental organizations, local self-governments, media and tourists, will make a contribution to the economic, social and natural development of the country which will contribute to sustainable tourism in Australia.
References
Adams, V., 2012. Mining and the environment: the future of Australia’s brand. Mining and the environment: the future of Australia’s brand, 11 July.
Australian Government, 2016. Australian Actions to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation. Australian Actions to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation.
Bailey, G. & Marshall, J., 2013. The economic impact of the current mining boom on the Australian tourism industry, Available at: https://www.tra.gov.au/documents/Economic-Industry/Economic_Impact_of_the_Current_Mining_Boom_on_the_Australian_Tourism_Industry_FINAL.pdf
Folke, C. et al., 2002. Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Available at: https://www.ima.kth.se/utb/mj2694/pdf/folke.pdf
Kostic, M. & Jovanovic-Toncev, M., 2014. Importance of sustainable tourism: Sinteza, Available at: https://portal.sinteza.singidunum.ac.rs/Media/files/2014/722-725.pdf
Mai, T. V. & Maani, K. E., 2010. Systems Thinking for Sustainable Tourism in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve of Viet Nam,Available at: https://www.systemdynamics.org/conferences/2010/proceed/papers/P1312.pdf
The World Tourism Organization, 2016. Product Development and Diversification. Product Development and Diversification.
Tourism Australia corporate website, 2015. What Is Sustainability?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tourism.australia.com/industry-advice/what-is-sustainability.aspx
Tourism Australia, 2013. Whole of government working with industry to achieve Australia’s tourism potential: Australian Government, Available at: https://www.tourism.australia.com/documents/Tourism_2020_overview.pdf
Turner, R., 2015. The Authority on World Travel & Tourism: World Travel & Tourism Council, Available at: https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/australia2015.pdf
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