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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (8 April) . . Page.. 666 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

"Ecotourism" has become quite a buzz word over the past few years. In the report I referred to earlier, Promoting the Natural Capital, ecotourism is defined in this way:

... nature-based tourism that involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be ecologically sustainable, [which] recognises that "natural environment" includes cultural components and that "ecologically sustainable" involves an appropriate return to the local community and long-term conservation of the resource.

Many people are going around touting themselves as ecotourism operators without necessarily fulfilling the requirements. It is not about setting up glorified fun parks or fancy resorts in natural areas where the environment merely becomes a backdrop to the tourism activity. That is why proper accreditation and assessment is so necessary, and this is something that is also not addressed in the strategy. We also believe that, although there has been a lot of focus on ecotourism, the debate about improving the environmental performance, and possibly accreditation also, needs to be much broader than this.

We have already had discussions in the community and with people who work in the area about how this accreditation process could be developed. There have been a number of suggestions for how operators should work, including a code of conduct or code of practice and a licensing scheme, with the licence being cancelled if they did not respect the principles. There could also be a requirement that operators demonstrate their knowledge of what is seen to be appropriate environmental best practice for the area in which they work and that they demonstrate a commitment to training their employees to ensure that they do their work in an appropriate way. They would also have to show in their work that they understand the implications of our cultural heritage.

While protection of the natural environment is of paramount importance, it is not just areas of natural significance that can be impacted on through tourism activities. All tourism activity must incorporate the principles of environmental sustainability. At an overall planning level, we want the business plans to provide detail on how environmentally sustainable development of the industry will be assured. This detail must also flow down to the level of the individual operator or activity or event.

Mr Speaker, as tourists are becoming more environmentally aware, this can only benefit the industry, particularly if a promotional label that is linked to a careful accreditation system is available. As we have often highlighted in other areas, there will also be economic benefits that flow from implementing environmental management programs. For example, a study prepared for the New South Wales branch of the Australian Hotels Association found that significant financial savings in the order of $57,000 for a 250-bed hotel would flow from the implementation of energy saving in environmental practices.

Obviously, training and information are necessary for the tourism industry, and that is why we are moving an amendment calling for an additional function to this effect. The new corporation will have to ensure that scientific and community environmental expertise is readily available to the corporation, as well as on the board. A process for ensuring proper accreditation also needs to be developed involving relevant groups.

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