Aboriginal tourism goes European

Media reports say that Brits and European tourists to Australia will be encouraged to get a taste of Aboriginal culture after a report revealed fewer than one in five visitors arrive in the country seeking an “indigenous experience”.

Aden Ridgeway, Former Federal Senator now heading Indigenous Tourism Australia, will lead an Aboriginal tourism roadshow to Britain and Europe in February.

An Indigenous Tourism report to be released today also reveals that having an “indigenous experience”, such as visiting an Aboriginal art gallery or seeing Aboriginal dance, was a major factor for only 18% of visitors in their decision to come to Australia in the March quarter this year.

53% per cent of visitors said having an indigenous experience was of little or no influence in their decision, with Germans, at 38% and Americans, at 30% most interested in tasting Aboriginal culture.

Younger international visitors tended to seek an indigenous experience more than their older counterparts, with last year, 45% of international visitors experiencing indigenous tourism aged between 15 and 34, while only 23% were over 55.

More than 90% of visitors said though that they would like to experience an indigenous experience on a future trip to Australia.

Mr Ridgeway, who is Aboriginal, said Europeans would be targeted to come to Aboriginal festivals, adding “You could easily be in South Africa or the west coast of the US on a tourism theme of sun, surf and sand and you have to look at some sort of differentiation and what makes Australia unique is indigenous culture”.

Mr Ridgeway said he wanted to travel overseas with a large delegation twice a year, adding, “We will target key markets and we want to focus on building a strategy around festivals, focusing on the icon festivals, and use that as a focal point for visitors making a choice to first come to Australia and, once they are here, to go out to communities”.

Small Business and Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said she wanted to create up to 30 new indigenous-run tourism businesses in the next three years, saying “I’m aiming for between 20 and 30 new indigenous tourism businesses within the next three years as a result of our mentor program, especially if we get these businesses with the skills to keep them sustainable”.

She added, “We now know that there is unmet demand, with a recent survey revealing that 25% of international holidaymakers wanting to experience some form of indigenous activity whilst in Australia.”  “There are about 300 indigenous tourism projects in the country and the ITA survey found tourists wanted more.”

Report by The Mole