Strategic Management of Ecotourism: An Australian Perspective

In 2002, the United Nations declared the International Year of Ecotourism, whose peak event was the World Ecotourism Summit, held in Quebec, Canada in May of that year. Ecotourism has since presented many formidable challenges including the following: many of the world’s natural areas remain under threat; there has been a further loss of biodiversity and resources for conservation remain inadequate; world tourism arrivals have grown by 23% and are forecast to double by 2020; climate change has increasingly become a major threat affecting the very resources on which ecotourism depends – natural areas and local and Indigenous communities around the world; this has helped raise awareness of the contribution of current and future tourism operations and services to global climate change; the role of tourism in supporting sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium; development Goals, notably the alleviation of poverty, has become recognized as a critical industry responsibility; ecotourism has articulated the core principles of sustainability in the travel and tourism industry and therefore plays a leading role within the industry as a whole (The International Ecotourism Society, 2007). With this mind, this research article deals with problems and emerging Trends associated with the Australian ecotourism marketing and how they are impacting Australia’s tourism patterns and also future trends for Ecotourism.