AusLeisure

About 200 delegates from across Australia and around the world are meeting in Adelaide this week to discuss ecotourism’s current trends and future directions.

South Australian Environment Minister Ian Hunter yesterday opened the 25th annual Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference, which brings together the world's leading speakers on ecotourism, sustainability and responsible tourism.

Explaining South Australia’s commitment to nature-based tourism, Minister Hunter stated “South Australia is committed to advancing our already strong nature-based tourism sector, supporting the local industry to create 1,000 new jobs and inject $350 million into the state’s economy by 2020.

“Our state is already home to many unique ecotourism experiences, from walking among sea lions at Seal Bay and cage diving with great white sharks off the Neptune Islands, to hiking the five-day Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail or holding a koala at Cleland Wildlife Park.”

Speakers have come from across Australia and from as far away as Nepal, Botswana, China, the Philippines and Sri Lanka to address a range of topics, including opportunities in indigenous tourism, catering for the Chinese market, wildlife experiences, protected area tourism, and geotourism experiences like fossils and hot springs.

The South Australian tourism industry features strongly in the program, with Cleland Wildlife Park, Arkaba Station, Zoos SA, Kangaroo Island Odysseys and the finalists in the recent SA Tourism Awards Ecotourism category all taking to the stage.

Running from 27th to 29th November, the South Australian Government is hosting the conference with the support of the SA Tourism Industry Council.

The program includes 25 keynote speakers and four panel discussions.

Minister Hunter also commented on the potential of Geotourism, adding “Geotourism is (also) an emerging market that South Australia is especially well placed to cater for, with megafauna fossils at the World Heritage Naracoorte Caves, evidence of the world’s earliest animals in the Flinders Ranges, and stunning geological formations in parks like the Gawler Ranges, Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges, and the ice-age gem of Hallett Cove right on Adelaide’s doorstep.”

For more information on the conference, click here for details in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images: Seals at Kangeroo Island (top) and a concept drawings for the redevelopment of the the Cleland Wildlife Park (below)

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2nd November 2015 - SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT ON NATURE-BASED TOURISM PLAN

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