Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for growing demand for Australia as a tourism destination, both in Australia and overseas. Our corporate purpose, as outlined in the Tourism Australia Act 2004, is to grow demand and foster a competitive and sustainable tourism industry.
All our activities support the vision of being the most desirable and memorable destination on earth. In striving to achieve this ambitious goal, we are conscious of the importance of respecting and protecting the communities, cultures and lands that are so central to Australia’s destination appeal. Fostering sustainable tourism businesses and operations is key to protecting the very things that people travel to Australia for.
Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director, Tourism Australia said, “As Australian tourism emerges from the pandemic, it is important that tourism businesses protect and nurture the very things our guests travel for, our natural environments, wildlife, Indigenous cultures, clean cities, quality produce, and way of life. These are amongst our top drivers of demand. We encourage those businesses to celebrate their efforts and inherent appeal by entering the Banksia Awards, and lead the way for the rest of industry.”
OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Driving awareness of, and capability for a sustainable industry is a defined strategic priority for Tourism Australia and enshrined within our corporate values.
OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BANKSIA AWARDS
Tourism Australia has partnered with the Banksia Foundation to support the inaugural Sustainable Tourism Award. As the tourism industry emerges in recovery and rebuild mode from the pandemic, this award will recognise and reward outstanding achievements in championing the protection, conservation, and regeneration of the diverse natural environments that make Australia so appealing to travellers. Protecting the natural environment across Australia whilst securing, nurturing, and supporting the economic and physical wellbeing of community and culture, both Indigenous and local. In short, the award recognises those tourism businesses that are nurturing and protecting the very things our visitors within and to Australia travel for.
PLANET, PROFIT AND PEOPLE
For Tourism Australia, sustainable tourism includes protecting and restoring our natural environment, helping to conserve Australia’s natural wonders and cultures, so they can be enjoyed today and by future generations. It also means fostering a profitable industry that delivers employment opportunities and economic benefits to communities, and in turn helps improve the tourism experience for our travellers and the quality of life for Australians.
Our Indigenous tourism offering is a cornerstone of our sustainability story as a destination. Education and engagement with these oldest living cultures through diverse Indigenous-led tourism experiences is not only appealing but is key to understanding the inherent relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ and their way of living ‘with’ and protection of the environment for some 65,000 years, as well as being critical to the physical and economic wellbeing of our Indigenous communities.
Tourism Australia’s recently updated Reconciliation Action Plan reaffirms our commitment to reconciliation and supporting respectful and productive relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, enabling greater cultural awareness and preservation of our cultural heritage.
ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION
As Australia’s National Tourism Organisation, Tourism Australia has an important role to play in championing and elevating the importance, and the appeal, of sustainable tourism, through our voice of advocacy and education. Our marketing platforms can help Australian tourism businesses to better communicate their sustainability success stories; and, by doing so, help encourage others to follow their lead.
Learn more www.tourism.australia.com/en