Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Indigenous tourism experiences are highly regarded by those who participate in them, yet Indigenous people and businesses are under-represented within the tourism industry. Tourism is recognised as a path to address Indigenous disadvantage, and can be as a rare economic opportunity where Indigenous people have a unique advantage over non-Indigenous people. Indigenous tourism operators also recognise tourism as a path to economic independence by creating jobs for their children and communities in regional areas with relatively few alternatives, enabling communities to stay on country and perpetuate their culture and traditions. In 2018, I undertook a Churchill Fellowship to understand the approaches of New Zealand, the Unites States and Canada to Indigenous tourism, and how those approaches resulted in higher levels of participation in Indigenous experiences by international visitors. I thought I would learn about innovative ways of marketing Indigenous experiences; however it seems their success is not due to marketing alone. Instead, it is the way in which the Indigenous tourism industry is structured, and how that system supports Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities, that is having the greatest impact. My paper highlights that Indigenous tourism requires a delicate balance of supply and demand. Until the supply side of Indigenous tourism is working well, it will be difficult for national tourism organisations such as Tourism Australia in Australia to effectively create demand for the sector.