Business Envoy - Indigenous Innovation - December 2022

Building a thriving First Nations tourism sector

Among the many qualities that draw visitors to our shores is the opportunity to experience one of the world’s oldest enduring cultures. First Nations communities’ understanding and respect for Australia’s natural environment provide an authentic point of difference in an increasingly competitive international tourism landscape. Above: Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu, Northern Territory. Below left: Narlijia Experiences Broome, Western Australia. Below right: Tali Wiru offers luxury fine dining on sand dunes with views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta in the Northern Territory. Images courtesy of Tourism Australia.

Like many other areas of the tourism industry, the pandemic caused a sharp decrease in First Nations tourism. However, it is recovering strongly, with more than 1.2 million domestic visitors participating in First Nations experiences in 2021. As international visitors return, First Nations tourism will continue its upward path. A thriving First Nations tourism sector helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to stay on Country while benefiting economically from sharing their culture, traditions and history. A commitment to respectfully embed First Nations peoples and cultures into Australia’s tourism offering underpins THRIVE 2030, the national long-term strategy for the sector.

Through THRIVE 2030, Austrade is working with industry, federal, state and territory governments, and the National Indigenous Australians Agency to enhance First Nations products and experiences and increase the participation of First Nations people in the tourism workforce. Austrade is working with the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism to design an effective collaborative mechanism that will achieve greater inclusion of First Nations businesses, culture and interpretation in the tourism industry. More: austrade.gov.au/news/ publications/thrive-2030-strategy

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business envoy

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

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