Following comprehensive research conducted by Tourism Alliance Victoria, a peak industry body representing local and regional tourism organisations, 13 councils in Victoria are considered to engage in sustainable tourism management practices.
Local Government – Tourism Health Check research was a joint project between Tourism Alliance and the Centre for Regional Tourism Research. The aim was to measure the capacity of Local Government to develop and manage a destination for tourism over time and to provide information about how to improve key aspects of management to enable tourism to meet triple bottom line principles.
Over sixty of Victoria’s 79 councils participated in the project, which measured results in six key areas:
- strategic planning
- implementation of plans
- involvement with private sector
- integration within Council departments
- policies, plans and procedures
- coordination and provision of resources to manage tourism locally.
“Tourism generates 85,000 jobs and is worth $10 billion dollars to the Victorian economy,” said Tourism Alliance Chief Executive, Nicholas Hunt. “It is an industry that is especially important to regional centres.”
The capacity of Local Government to manage a destination for tourism may be hindered by issues of isolation, access to resources, training and skills of key staff, internal conflicts, planning and governance.
The research revealed that there were structures in place within Councils which could be exploited to assist them to increase their capacity to implement sustainable tourism objectives.
Tourism Alliance Victoria has developed a range of fact sheets and project briefs incorporating the results of this study. The full report is also available.
For further information contact Tourism Alliance Victoria on (03) 9650 8399.
