10 Steps To Sustainable Tourism
10 Steps To Sustainable Tourism
10 Steps To Sustainable Tourism
sustainable
tourism
planning a sustainable
future for tourism, heritage
and the environment
steps to
sustainable
tourism
planning a
sustainable
future for tourism,
heritage and
the environment
This work is copyright. Information presented in this document may be reproduced in whole or in part for
study and training purposes, subject to the inclusion of acknowledgement of source and provided no
commercial usage or sale occurs. Reproduction for purposes other than those given above, and any uses
permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, requires prior written permission from the Commonwealth, available
from the Department of the Environment and Heritage.
Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to:
Assistant Secretary
Heritage Division
Department of the Environment and Heritage
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601
[email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment and Heritage.
While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct,
the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents,
and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use
of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication.
Steps has been developed by the Heritage and Tourism Section of the Australian Government Department
of the Environment and Heritage by contributing authors Nicholas Hall and Lisa Testoni. The approach has
been reviewed by an international reader’s reference group, including the University of Western Sydney and
TTF Australia.
Back cover image and page 8: Elder Range, South Australia. Photo: John Baker. Copyright: Department of
the Environment and Heritage.
Foreword
Steps to Sustainable Tourism has been developed with the assistance of the tourism
industry, academics and heritage managers.
Christopher Brown
Managing Director & CEO
TTF Australia
Welcome 1
— Who is this guide for 3
— How can it be used? 3
— What are the benefits? 4
— Before you start… 5
— Guiding principles 5
Resources 59
Glossary 61
Background 65
v
WELCOME
Environment and heritage are valued differently by different people. Those working in
tourism recognise them as assets of mainstream and niche tourism products and are in
a position to do much to educate visitors about the values of our natural and cultural
heritage places.
The underlying principle of this guide is the need to recognise and protect the values of
our special natural and cultural places in order to enhance tourism product development
and the management of places in the long term.
Its core is proper planning. The 10 steps form an entire planning process that can be
applied from start to finish, or can be used in part if more appropriate. It can be followed
in large planning exercises such as a ‘big picture’ regional planning process or by small
interest groups or individuals wanting to promote a single attraction. Following these
steps thoroughly will assist you meet the needs of the visitor, the environment, business
and the local community. There can be a sustainable future for them all.
Steps has been designed as a practical tool and pilot projects will be actively sought to
further refine this first edition. Feedback from these pilot projects will assist in developing
the second edition, as it is important to learn from people on the ground who are
working towards sustainable tourism.
Follow these steps thoroughly and you will be well on the way to meeting the needs of
the visitor, the tourism businesses, the environment and the local community for the
benefit of all, both now and in the future.
By taking a thorough approach to planning, such as this 10-step process, you can help
to build a productive and lasting partnership between heritage and tourism. Don’t be
surprised if you find that you need to revisit some of the steps or if you take more time
on some than on others. The process is a guide only and is flexible enough to be used
in the way that best suits your circumstances.
Be prepared to devote time and possibly some resources to working through this
process. If you’re able to do this, you will find that it is a very powerful tool to thoroughly
explore issues at the most complex of heritage places and regions and to determine the
best way forward.
Guiding principles
Several guiding principles or philosophies have influenced the development of the
10 steps. They are:
• inclusive decision-making
• sustainable development
• tourism and heritage principles
• appropriate tourism development.
Inclusive decision-making
Four key perspectives are involved in tourism and heritage — those of tourism operators,
heritage managers, visitors and the community. They all have particular ideas, issues
and interests. If all groups are to benefit, the perspectives of these groups need to
be considered in making decisions for the future. The 10-step process is designed to
include and integrate the views of these different groups to achieve positive outcomes
for all.
Positive
outcomes
for all
Businesses Visitors
Sustainable development
Sustainable development needs to address economic, social and environmental issues.
Many businesses now include social and environmental factors as part of their
performance measurement. Sometimes referred to as ‘triple bottom line’ measurement
and reporting, this approach focuses on accountability, transparency, commitment to
stakeholder and community engagement and systematic measurement and reporting.
The principles from Successful Tourism at Heritage Places underpin this framework and
should be a starting point for discussions and collaboration. They are:
1. recognise the importance of heritage places
2. look after heritage places
3. develop mutually beneficial partnerships
4. incorporate heritage issues into business planning
5. invest in people and place
6. market and promote products responsibly
7. provide high-quality visitor experiences
8. respect Indigenous rights and obligations.
Tourism will not be an option for some environments or heritage places where it is
incompatible with the special values or management objectives of a place. Using the
process in this guide will enable you to assess whether this is the case.
Step 2
Who is, could
be or needs to Step 3
Step 1 be involved? What is
What do we known?
want to do?
Step 4
What makes this
region, place or
product special?
Step 5
What are
the issues?
Step 6
Analysing
issues
Step 7
Principles or
objectives to
guide action
Step 8
What are your
ideas and
options?
Step 9
How to do it?
Step 10
Statement
of directions
Elder Range, South Australia. Photo: John Baker.
Copyright: Department of the Environment and Heritage.
STEP 1
What do we want to do? STEP
Whether you’re using this process in relation to a region, a particular place or a tourism
product, your first step is to determine what you would like to achieve and to understand
the context of your project.
The statement of aim that you produce will become an important reference for briefings,
consultation, media communications and proposals, as it will help others to clearly
understand what you’re trying to achieve. If a number of people are involved, you must
all agree on your aims before going any further.
Examples of aims
Region We want to identify and understand the potential for tourism
development in the region, while enhancing community
development and maintaining our natural and cultural heritage.
National Heritage To consider the tourism issues in developing a management
List Place plan for a place on Australia’s national list of heritage places.
Ecolodge To draft a plan for developing an ecolodge that contributes to
the protection of the site’s natural and cultural heritage values.
Some of the key questions you may need to answer succinctly are:
• what are the key natural and cultural assets for tourism?
• what are the current visitor numbers?
• what is the potential for future growth in visitor numbers?
• how well is the current situation working?
• is the place or region appropriate for tourism use and development?
The basin is home to only 57 000 people. A Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating
Group (LEBCG) was formed in the mid 1990s with pastoralists, Aboriginal
groups, tourist operators, mining and petroleum interests, conservationists
and others to manage sustainably the area’s natural resources.
Although there is no clear count on tourism growth throughout the Lake Eyre
Basin, all the indicators are for constant growth, with some of the icon areas
showing considerable increase. The Simpson Desert, as an example, in just
over 10 years has grown from around 300 recorded crossings to now more
than 4000 vehicles crossing in a season. Equally, the icon towns like Innamincka
and Birdsville are now seeing visitor numbers of approximately 50 000, which is
a threefold increase over the past 10 years.
[Schmiechen, J. 2003 Lake Eyre Basin Heritage Tourism Future Directions, Lake Eyre Basin
Coordinating Group.]
If you systematically and strategically identify and involve those with a stake in your place,
region or tourism product, you will:
• ensure the right people are involved in planning and future activities
• help determine heritage significance of places involved
• help make sure all the important issues are considered
• help to decide what future actions are realistic and will best meet everyone’s needs
and
• help build support for regional plans, management plans and development proposals.
This step is important as it will underpin all future steps and will need to be revisited and
updated continually.
Identify
stakeholders
and the nature
of their interest
Consult
Involve
STEP
2 visitors
operators
and
communities businesses
tourism
organisations
Indigenous
people
environment
and park
local, regional management
or other agencies
governments
cultural heritage
agencies (historic
and Indigenous)
Start using existing networks and communication forums to identify the people who
might be involved. Ask your colleagues:
• who else should I talk to?
• who is not involved who should be?
Some or all of the following questions may help you to identify the people, groups and
organisations who may need to be informed, consulted or involved in some way.
2 Informing and involving people can be challenging and time consuming but can make
a huge difference to successful projects, plans and tourism products. Consultation
processes can be targeted at your key stakeholders for specific purposes, or might be
designed to generally inform the community, build support and seek willing involvement.
There are many different consultation techniques. Choosing the best one for you will
depend on the context, type of people involved and the available human and financial
resources. Some techniques are formal, others are targeted and specific. The range of
techniques includes, but is not limited to:
• community meetings
• interviews
• public exhibitions, displays and information sheets
• advisory committees
• media placements seeking input
• written submissions
• telephone polls and surveys
• focus groups
• open days
• guided information tours
• conferences or workshops
• residents’ feedback sessions
• visual mapping
• pictorial and photographic illustration.
If you would like help in developing your consultation approaches, you may like to
engage someone who is trained or experienced in consultation techniques. Additional
resources detailing consultation methods are listed in the references section.
Working out the appropriate people to involve is often a matter of common sense, but
it can be important to involve people other than the usual suspects. Sometimes these
people can be a breath of fresh air, and bring with them new and interesting
perspectives.
local operators
community and
businesses
Indigenous
people
tourism
Working group organisations
local,
regional
or other park and
government environment
management
cultural agencies
heritage
agencies
Developing partnerships
Successful tourism often requires resources that no one organisation can offer so
partnerships can be an effective tool when dealing across tourism and heritage issues.
They can help to build support, and to coordinate rather than duplicate efforts. Taking a
partnership approach early on, may help you when seeking approvals and may ensure
that you have all the right information as a project progresses.
Where to look
You might have a look at books, newspaper articles, sound recordings, council records,
tourism brochures, annual reports, tour operator records, park management plans and
research reports. Information can also be found:
• by talking to knowledgeable individuals and through observations, interviews,
questionnaires and focus groups
• in local and state libraries
• in private collections
• on websites
• through various local or regional organisations
• in universities
• at heritage site management authorities
• at state and Australian Government departments
• with tour operators.
Questions to ask
Are there any:
• regional plans for economic development?
• relevant local government plans?
• expressions of community aims/aspirations?
If you can, also try to identify what areas of information seem to be missing as these
might be important parts of the overall picture and may need to be obtained some other
way if they are important for making future decisions.
Tourism data
The websites of the Australian Tourist Commission and state tourism organisations may
be helpful. If you prefer, you can contact these organisations directly and other bodies
such as regional tourism organisations, local tourist information centres and research STEP
authorities such as the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Sustainable Tourism. 3
See the Contacts for further information section at the end of this document.
In finalising this step, consider the information you have collected and reviewed. You
should now be able to draft a:
• summary of the key sources of information
• summary of the natural and cultural heritage assets of the region and
• summary of the current and potential market for tourism.
In this step you need to identify the important values of your place, region or product,
and the ways in which they are understood and communicated. Places can be special
for all kinds of reasons — they may be important to the local community or to the world
as a whole.
STEP
Tourism, heritage and local community interests will benefit from developing a common
understanding of what is significant so that they have a unified approach to presenting
4
local and regional heritage to visitors.
Understanding the values of your heritage places is essential for effective product
development, planning, marketing, management and interpretation. It is also important
when considering the appropriateness of introducing or expanding tourism activities at
your heritage place. This understanding helps to ensure that future development is as
compatible as possible with the ongoing care of the values.
You may find that the values have already have been documented by natural and cultural
heritage specialists or are known to locals. Heritage professionals have developed
considerable expertise and have structured methods (including criteria) for assessing the
significance of a place. Information they can offer on aesthetic, historical, scientific, social
and spiritual significance will be valuable. Hunt out this information. A good place to start
is to check local, state or national heritage registers.
Determining what makes the region, place or product special should take into account
all the values that are known. The following questions may help you to identify the special
attributes of your region, place or product.
The results of this step can be presented in a statement of why this region, place or
product is special. This statement is a blend of identified heritage values and other values
which potentially make the region, place or product engaging for visitors. It is called a
‘Heritage and Tourism Value Statement’.
This step is about identifying all the important issues or factors that might affect what
happens in the future. This means talking to people and looking at the information you
have collected to date. Tease out the important matters that are unresolved or that will
impact on your place, region or tourism product. Before you start, remember:
• issues are not always problems — they can be worked on and with
• identify conflicts in perspectives or issues — flag these for further clarification and
analysis so that you can find ways to address them later
• focus on the issues and not the people raising them
• if people have identified issues, make sure these are considered through the next
steps. People’s views need to be reflected in the process and individuals should also
be able to see their input
STEP
• in identifying issues, you may come across some which require expert advice or
further investigation. This could include professional assessments of the condition
of places, market potential, and visitor management and interpretation. Obtaining
5
professional advice or digging out extra information may help to build a sturdier
foundation for planning future work, forecasting budgets and preparing for any
necessary approvals
• a thorough knowledge of issues will also help you to develop performance measures
and monitoring indicators as you address the issues over time.
If you are undertaking this step yourself, think of running separate meetings or separate
parts of meetings, so that people have a chance to think and talk about issues
concerning them. Record what people say. Ensure everyone has an opportunity to
express their view.
Further checks that can help you to identify important issues are:
• Revisit step 2 (who is involved?) and consider the issues that might come from
different perspectives and stakeholders. If you don’t have an understanding of issues
from their point of view, how might you find this out?
• Revisit step 3 (what do we know?) to consider issues raised previously. Are there any
recommendations that have been made before?
• Revisit step 4 (what is special?) and consider issues that arise when we understand
what makes a place, region or tourism product special.
In considering each of these, it may be useful to look at the following questions to help
you consider possible issues. Not all will be relevant to your situation.
Infrastructure issues
Questions Detailed questions
What road and What is the proximity to major international and domestic
transport issues gateways?
affect tourism to Can existing infrastructure cope with the desired amount
the region or place? of tourism (air transport, quality of roads, accommodation,
services and facilities, diversity of experience)?
How adequate are current roads, signage and transport in
terms of access and visitor experience?
What is the condition of existing roads, routes and tracks?
Are new ones needed?
Is upgrading or rationalising needed?
Could signage be improved to provide better information
and directions?
What main regulations apply to tourism and infrastructure
development?
Do current road and transport plans accommodate tourism
growth?
A thoughtful presentation and discussion of the issues raised by answering the above
questions can be drafted under suitable headings such as those above, or whatever
form is most appropriate to your region, place or tourism product. Where possible
identify the highest priority issues as identified by knowledgeable people or by
consensus. This will help you to target the analysis in the next step (Step 6).
Sometimes an issue is broadly identified, but not enough information exists on which to
base a reasonable judgement. In this case, either you need to gather more information
about the issue, or use some sort of analytical technique to develop a clearer picture.
Various types of analysis appropriate for tourism, heritage and business planning are
detailed in the next step.
Various methods of conflict resolution and mediation processes exist. Rather than
focusing on the particular individuals and their views and creating an adversarial
situation, there are ways of working with interests to acknowledge views, explore issues
and develop solutions cooperatively.
Now that the issues have emerged from the last step, you may need to delve further to
clarify what is going on. Important issues need to be fully understood if the right decision
is to be made about a particular course of action.
Concentrate your efforts on analysing priority issues. If resources are limited you may
need to make a judgement based on available information and analysis. Analysis may
simply be a matter of presenting a reasoned judgement about an issue with justification
of how you came to that position and citing what data or information supports this.
More sophisticated analysis may help you to make better business and management
decisions, but this can also be time-consuming and costly, so compromises may have
to be made. In any case you should clearly state how you have reached your current
understanding of the situation.
Many of the methods of analysis described below are standard approaches used in
strategic planning. Some of them, such as market analysis, are essential components for
business plans. You will need to decide what types of analysis are relevant or appropriate
to your situation. The aim of using any analytical technique is to better understand factors STEP
at play in what might be a very complex situation. Analysis will also help to further identify
and prioritise fundamental issues. 6
Key analytical methods may include, but are not limited to the following:
• market analysis
• heritage conservation analysis
• SWOT analysis
• situational analysis
• cost–benefit analysis
• priority analysis.
Market analysis may include an assessment of how your region, place or tourism product
compares with existing competition. Are there others around competing for a similar
market? What are their strengths? What are yours? Is the market big enough for people
to share? How can your region, place or product be presented in the marketplace to
maximise the fit between what you can offer and what people want?
Basically a market analysis should assess the supply and demand for tourism product,
accommodation, transport and associated services relating to your situation. This type
of analysis helps in positioning your product intelligently in the marketplace.
You can estimate the market potential for a product using information on sales volumes
for similar products or in similar regions. Industry statistics collected regularly across
Australia may also be available from you state or territory tourism organisation (refer to
contacts information).
Market analysis often includes a forecast of where the market is going. Trends over time
may indicate how your product or service may fare in the future. In the summary of your
market analysis you should explain the potential for future development opportunities
based on market and trend information.
One important type of conservation analysis is a condition analysis. This method uses
trained heritage conservation experts to look closely at buildings, Indigenous sites or
natural features and assess their physical condition, and their capacity to withstand
visitors or other possible indirect impacts.
Situational analysis
This is a description of the context in which tourism is currently occurring. It includes
the main determining factors such as the seasonal or geographic flow patterns and the
functional relationships at play. Understanding the situation is the first step in designing
the response.
A situational analysis involves analysing needs and assets, understanding what works
well and what doesn’t and the capacity of those involved. Including others in situational
analysis helps to build a better understanding of the context or situation.
In this process you will need to consider the present strengths and weaknesses of your
situation and future possibilities for opportunities and threats. Remember, that the
weaknesses and threats can become strengths and opportunities if addressed.
This analysis will help you to get an overview of key issues, and will help to articulate
issues that may not have come out in other ways. It is useful to undertake SWOT analysis
after you have collected and considered information from issues identified in the last
step.
Weaknesses Threats 6
Are current approaches to What threats are there to the heritage
interpretation looking a little old, values of the place or region?
or in need of revision? What threats are there to the physical
Are there physical factors of the condition of heritage places?
place or region which make visitor What threats are there to the livelihood
management difficult? or ongoing economic or social viability
Are there particular factors which of the local community?
present problems for marketing? What threats are there to the viability
What does evaluation and feedback of the business?
indicate could be done better? What threats are apparent from an
Is there a lack of training or capacity? analysis of potential risks?
Costs and benefits can be financial, environmental and social. Putting a financial value
on intangible costs and benefits can be more challenging and highly subjective.
Cost–benefit analysis is linked to the concept of the ‘triple bottom line’ which is used
as a framework for measuring and reporting performance against three key areas —
economic, social and environmental.
Some cost–benefit analysis questions that could be asked in relation to a region, place
or project:
Possible questions
Costs Benefits
Will increased exposure and interest Will development of managed
in the site lead to greater risk of accommodation replace ad hoc, poorly
vandalism and damage to the place? managed camping on adjacent pastoral
Will there be increased road traffic areas?
STEP and increased maintenance costs? Will the special values of an area be
more effectively presented through
6 Will establishing best practice
environmental management the establishment of a facility to host
approaches be an additional interpretative information and orient
cost to developers? visitors?
Will people stay longer in the region if
a key new facility/destination is added?
Can best practice environmental
management be used as a marketing
and promotion tool?
Importance
Urgency
Consider each issue and its place on the chart. Issues that are judged to be both very
important and urgent will obviously need to be addressed as a top priority. The priorities
for issues which fall elsewhere on the chart will depend on the issue and context. The
following questions may help you consider priorities, and place issues on the chart:
• are there options or actions that address important needs or gaps?
• which options or actions advance and support set priorities or responsibilities?
• is there a particular action that, if not taken, would result in negative consequences?
STEP
• what opportunities present themselves that should be pursued?
Ideally, you should do this analysis with a group of your stakeholders so that you develop
6
a common understanding of your key issues. It will help point towards particular options
and future courses of action, and will also help to build agreements between stakeholders
on possible future directions.
Now that you have an understanding of tourism and heritage values and the key issues
at play, you need to consider more specifically what you want to achieve. This should
be a balance between looking after heritage and developing tourism if, and where,
appropriate.
In Steps 2 to 6 you drew together all the relevant background material and knowledge.
Using this as your foundation you now need to consider where you want to go in the
future. In this step you will develop specific objectives, or if appropriate, a general set of
principles, to guide future work.
These principles or objectives, need to deal with the realities of tourism while maintaining
and protecting what is special about the area’s natural and cultural heritage.
It is very important that principles or objectives are agreed by key stakeholders and that
they have a high level of ownership. Implementation of the principles works best when
people feel they have played an important part in their development.
Principles
STEP
In some cases a general set of principles is the most appropriate way to guide the
direction and breadth of future work. Principles can be expressed in the form of
guidelines, protocols or policy statements. For example, a tourism business might
7
develop a set of responsible tourism principles, or a set of protocols might be developed
with Indigenous communities covering issues relating to Indigenous heritage and
tourism.
In historic heritage conservation plans, you can often find a statement of ‘conservation
policies’. Where these policies exist, they should be included in the principles as they
are likely to guide the development of heritage tourism.
Objectives are created by thinking how you want the future to look. Build into your
objectives words which reflect economic and community aspirations as well as the
intention to take care of heritage. Objectives should be developed and owned collectively
by stakeholders or business partners.
They can be written in several different ways. One approach is to state your intent, for
example, “to improve directional signage at…”. The other way is to state the desired end
result, for example “signs installed at all…”. The form you use will depend on personal
preference and the context in which they are to be used.
You can measure whether or not you have met your objectives by developing indicators
or tangible evidence of attaining your goals. You may also want to think about what
milestones would help to break down your work into achievable stages.
As your work proceeds, any reporting should focus on your progress towards achieving
your objectives. This is the means by which you and others can monitor performance.
Example of objectives
• To develop a regional tourism strategy focusing on key areas which are linked by
a particular theme
• To build relationships and communication between tourism operators, attractions
and regional managers of natural and cultural heritage places through regular
STEP reporting meetings
7 • To improve the regional directional and interpretive signage relating to tourist and
heritage attractions
• To maintain and enhance the region’s international profile as an ecotourism
destination
• To ensure that educational materials are available relating to the values of particular
places
• To secure increased financial resources to promote the distinctive natural and
cultural heritage assets of the region
• To build the capacity in the local community to support and participate in tourism
through awareness raising and training activities
• To increase market share from 2% to 5% within two years
You will have generated ideas and concepts as you have progressed through Step 3
(what information is there?), Step 4 (what makes this region, place or product special?),
Step 5 (identifying issues) and Step 6 (analysing issues). The aims and objectives
identified in Step 7 can help you to develop ideas and options in this step.
It’s likely that you will have many different options and pathways to your final goal or
goals. If you are working in a region or community, you may need to consider many
possibilities before making a final decision. In planning for tourism the feasibility of one
or more options may need to be tested and presented before funding or approvals
are granted.
This step will help you to clarify your ideas and options, make decisions and prepare you
for taking action.
STEP
Developing ideas
As you have worked through this process, many ideas will have emerged or will have
8
been put forward by the people with whom you have been working. Now you can bring
those ideas forward and show how they might work. You may need to bundle together
specific ideas into packages or groups of actions. You will need to take into account key
issues and to ensure that you maximise opportunities and manage any threats.
If clear ideas and options do not emerge at first, you may need to develop them through
discussions, brainstorming sessions, focus groups or workshops.
Revisit the issues and analysis (in Steps 5 and 6) to remind you of what aspects you
need to consider. The table below is a checklist that may help you to generate ideas and
ensure that different aspects are considered.
Consider Questions
Visitor experience What will help improve the visitor experience?
What specific interpretation activities could be undertaken
to improve visitor experience?
How are we meeting demand for the particular natural
and/or cultural heritage experience being offered?
How will interpretation be delivered/improved? (Successful
Tourism at Heritage Places provides guidance on this)
What heritage themes will be used?
What activities will visitors undertake?
Community How can community engagement be maximised?
engagement Can community representatives be included in key decision
making processes?
How can the community be involved in tourism at
a heritage place?
What sort of regional cooperation will be pursued?
STEP Who will be involved in developing tourism?
8 What partnerships could be further explored?
When presenting the options you should give a realistic assessment of their feasibility
and include information on proposed timing and required resources.
Good communication and people skills can make a big difference when it comes to
convincing others of the benefits of your recommended option/s.
Once a particular idea or option looks like meeting most people’s needs, your next step
will be to seek agreement through the necessary formal and informal processes. As you
obtain agreements and support, make sure you document this for future reference. STEP
8
The preferred options or ideas from the previous step now need to be turned into actions
that you can implement!
Making new projects or ideas happen may involve many stakeholders, organisations and
groups. Even if implementation is the responsibility of one organisation or business, you
will probably need to gain the support or approval of others. Whatever your situation,
a clear implementation plan is essential. This not only makes sound business sense but
is standard practice in project management. This plan can also be called an action plan
or a work plan.
In addition to developing this plan, each participating organisation may need to look at
its own planning documents to ensure that the implementation plan links to existing
planning documents. It may be worth having an overall implementation/action plan for
heritage tourism issues as a common agreed framework.
The following sample format covers the important implementation issues. For each
objective, list the proposed actions needed to attain your goal as follows:
STEP
9
Strategies for political support — consider and include actions that help build political
support for what you want to achieve. Lobbying can be a legitimate and necessary
activity.
Making links — consider how different activities can link together to create a whole
which is greater than the sum of its parts. Often the most efficient use of resources
comes from piggy-backing on other initiatives and pursuing activities with multiple
outcomes.
Staging — consider how actions can build up in stages over time to reach the desired
result. At times you may need to reach one stepping stone before reassessing where to
go next.
Influence — gain the support of other key players and influence other plans or activities
to increase your ability to make a difference. Ways of gaining support need to be
considered and included in your planning and activities.
Keeping on track
Any strategic plan, development plan or action plan needs to be followed and referred
to regularly to be kept relevant. The best way to use a plan is to constantly check and
STEP report on progress. You can do this through:
Indicators can be relatively simple, cheap and easy to measure. You can develop these
yourself or use existing indicators.
Monitoring and reporting — build into your implementation plan key points at which
to check your progress. It is a good idea to give formal progress reports to the group
with responsibilities across both tourism and heritage interests. This will help keep
attention on what has been achieved and what still needs to be done.
Timeframes for monitoring and reporting are important and should be carefully thought
through. You need to allow enough time to determine if the outcomes are successful or
whether you have made a significant impact. If unforeseen obstacles arise you may want
to report sooner rather than later to avert negative consequences. You also need to
consider how much time it takes to collect and collate monitoring data.
Evaluating and reviewing — your plan should also include a timeframe (three to five
years is typical). A major evaluation and review should be conducted at the end of this
time. This may lead to the plan being refreshed or the process being repeated to produce
a new plan.
Keeping track of progress means that efforts can be redirected and management
continually adapted to suit changing circumstances.
STEP
9
If you are writing up a plan, this step is simply like the conclusion or executive summary.
It summarises in as succinct a form as possible:
• the key heritage and tourism assets of the region, place or product
• the key issues and
• the agreements and outcomes reached between parties.
If you are using this process to run a meeting or series of meetings, or a major project,
this step comes at the end so that all the people involved can see what they have
achieved and can be clear about the outcomes. There may also be other creative ways
to present your outcomes through images or other forms of communication.
Whatever case, you will find this summary very useful for briefing colleagues, superiors
and for including in newsletters, electronic information or media materials.
STEP
10
STEPS TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 55
Summary checklist for sustainable tourism plans
A thorough documentation of the 10 steps will be enough to produce a sound basis for
a plan, whether a plan for a place, region or a tourism product. The checklist can be used
to help you review your own work. It can also be used to review or update existing plans.
Ask First: A guide to respecting Indigenous heritage places and values, Australian
Heritage Commission, Canberra, 2002.
Australian Natural Heritage Charter for the conservation of places of natural heritage
significance. Second edition, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2002.
Community Planning for Ecotourism: partnerships for sustainable futures, Monash
University Graduate School of Environmental Science, 1997.
Developing viable regional tourist accommodation, Part 2 — A practical “how to” guide,
Tourism Task Force, Planning Workshop Australia and Arthur Andersen, Sydney, 1998.
EcoRam (Ecotourism Rapid Assessment Model): A simple guide to assessing ‘great’
ecotourism business ideas), Tourism Queensland, Brisbane, 2001.
Ecotourism: Principles, Practices and Policies for Sustainability, UNEP, Paris, Megan Epler
Wood 2002.
Going Places: Developing natural and cultural heritage tourism in Australia Issues Paper,
National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce for the Environment Protection and Heritage
Ministers’ Council, Canberra, 2003.
Ideas for Community Consultation: A discussion on principles and procedures for making
consultation work, A report prepared for the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and
Planning, February 2001, Dr Lyn Carson and Dr Katharine Gelber
International Cultural Tourism Charter: principles and guidelines for managing tourism at
places of cultural and heritage significance, International Council on Monuments and
Sites (ICOMOS), ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee, December
2002.
Keeping the Bush in the Game, new approaches to making regional tourism more
competitive, Tourism Task Force, Sydney, 2002.
Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: a practical manual for World Heritage site
managers, Pedersen, A., UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Paris, 2002.
Protecting Heritage Places Information and Resource Kit, Australian Heritage
Commission, Canberra, 2001.
Protecting Local Heritage Places: a guide for communities, Australian Heritage
Commission, Canberra, 1998.
Protecting Natural Heritage — using the Australian Natural Heritage Charter,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2003.
Pursuing common goals: Opportunities for tourism and conservation, Commonwealth of
Australia, Canberra, 2003.
Successful Tourism at Heritage Places: A guide for tourism operators, heritage managers
and communities, Australian Heritage Commission and CRC for Sustainable Tourism,
Canberra, 2001.
Internet resources
Aboriginal Tourism Australia — www.ataust.org.au
Australian Tourist Commission — www.atc.net.au
Australian Heritage Directory — www.heritage.gov.au
Department of the Environment and Heritage (heritage tourism) —
www.deh.gov.au/heritage/tourism/sustainable.html
Ecotourism Australia — www.ecotourism.org.au
Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre — www.crctourism.com.au
Protected Area Management Agencies in Australia and New Zealand —
www.deh.gov.au/parks/hoa/index.html
For additional up-to-date information also check the websites of tourism organisations,
park authorities, heritage offices, planning departments and Indigenous authorities in
your state or territory.
For many years, demand has been growing for a systematic way to integrate the needs
of tourism, environment and heritage when planning for places and projects. A review
of international experience has indicated that successful heritage tourism requires a well-
planned, regionally-coordinated approach based on government and community
partnerships. Effective planning processes need to address site management, visitor
facilities, tourism services and marketing in a regional context.
The National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce, appointed by the Environment Protection
and Heritage Ministerial Council, identified the need to improve communication between
tourism, heritage and other stakeholders at the regional level (Going Places: Developing
natural and cultural heritage tourism in Australia Issues Paper 2003). The Taskforce
suggested developing a process to allow for more integrated strategic planning for
sustainable tourism at natural and cultural heritage places.
In addition to protected areas, local government and state tourism organisations have
identified similar needs for sustainable tourism management and want to ensure that
decision making is focused on balancing the demands of stakeholders.
Developing the Steps to Sustainable Tourism process has been underpinned by the
comments and insights of a readers reference group. Members of this group have
expertise in tourism planning, heritage planning and community development. The
methodology of Steps has been tested in industry forums, conferences, in focus sessions
and through consultation in the field.
The 10-step process follows a basic strategic planning methodology. As such it bears a
strong correlation with business planning and regional planning approaches. The focus
in Steps is on market perspectives in tourism and identifying and protecting natural and
cultural values. The process relates to that presented in the Protecting Heritage Places
Kit and its components (the key recognised Australian standards for natural and cultural
heritage conservation):
• the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter
• the Australian Natural Heritage Charter and
• Ask First: A guide to respecting Indigenous heritage places and values.
Steps was informed by, and is complimentary to, a number of international documents
including:
• the International Cultural Tourism Charter: principles and guidelines for managing
tourism at places of cultural and heritage significance
• Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: a practical manual for World Heritage site
managers and
• Ecotourism: principles, practices and policies for sustainability.
The 10 steps will help meet the needs of various local, state and national processes and
will contribute to developing sustainable heritage tourism. They offer a straightforward
approach that can assist in bringing together heritage and tourism planning in regions
and at heritage places.
We hope to make available as many experiences and case studies as possible to illustrate
how all or part of the 10-step process has been applied at actual places. Over time, the
process will be supported by professional development and training materials.
Step 2
Who is, could
be or needs to Step 3
Step 1 be involved? What is
What do we known?
want to do?
Step 4
What makes this
region, place or
product special?
Step 5
What are
the issues?
Step 6
Analysing
issues
Step 7
Principles or
objectives to
guide action
Step 8
What are your
ideas and
options?
Step 9
How to do it?
Step 10
Statement
of directions
steps to
sustainable
tourism