The Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference held this week in Lorne, Victoria was a wonderful opportunity to connect to Indigenous tour operators from all over the country. This is just a quick post to capture some of the takeaways for me:
- There’s a huge diversity Indigenous experiences, walking tours on country, urban tours, remote activities – happening across Australia.
- The commitment of state governments varies significantly. Some state governments, for example Western Australia are hugely committed to Indigenous tourism, while others could do a lot more to support Indigenous tour operators and the peripheral businesses.
- While there is a growing focus on the Chinese market, the domestic market continues to be a challenge – and racism plays a big roll in that.
- The need for professional development is strong, particularly in the digital space, but also pricing. Understanding the need to price – wholesale as well as retail is fundamental to building a sustainable business.
- Connecting and collaboration – the importance of connecting with each other as business owners and tourism operators is essential. The goal has to be not to just increase your share of the pie but to increase the pie for everyone. Getting more Australians and international visitors to see the value of Indigenous experiences must
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash