Kimberley Coastal Tourism

The Kimberley Coastal Tourism Project is designed to improve opportunities for Aboriginal people to become involved in the tourism industry along the Kimberley coastline.

The market for tourism along this dazzling, pristine coastline is rapidly expanding and Aboriginal people from Saltwater Country are keen to get on board. At the same time Aboriginal people are looking to promote sustainable tourism to reduce the impact of uncontrolled access to visitors.

Our project also involves liaising with the charter boat tourism industry which derives its income from the Aboriginal-owned coastline, islands and cultural heritage. Through sharing knowledge, we can learn from the expertise of charter boat operators, while providing extensive knowledge in how to look after country and protect the beautiful attractions our coastline has to offer.

The Kimberley Coastal Tourism project is also working to build a community platform to enhance Indigenous involvement in tourism through:

>DEVELOPMENT of Cultural Awareness Packages which includes a visitor code of conduct, staff induction kit, Welcome to Country information pack and authorised cultural site interpretation for the improved protection of natural and cultural sites;

>TRAINING, education and increased engagement of Aboriginal people in tourism management, employment, business opportunities and natural resources management;

>KNOWLEDGE sharing between Kimberley Traditional Owners and experienced Indigenous tourism operators; and

>BUILDING on the development of site management plans for high visitation areas of cultural significance.

Traditional Owners from the Balanggarra, Dambimangari, Uungguu, Mayala and Bardi Jawi Native Title coastal groups are the driving force behind this three-year project. We have formed an Indigenous Coastal Tourism Steering Committee to create a decision-making vehicle in which to move this project forward so we can achieve outcomes for our people.

We have derived the outcomes for this project from various reports and strategies that have highlighted a gap in the tourism industry for Aboriginal people. We plan to close this gap through working to create sustainable tourism, environmental awareness and protection; development of Indigenous tourism and industry participation; development of tourism standards and guidelines; the creation of a user pays system to recover cost management and; protection of special sites and inclusion of cultural values in planning.