Wildlife Tourism Workshop

Community Centre, 59 Duke St., Grafton, NSW

9.30am to 5.00pm

Saturday 24^th October 2015

This workshop will be held in the beautiful Clarence Valley of the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, surrounded by rainforests, bushland, wetlands, rivers and wonderful coasts and offering wildlife experiences including brolgas, emus, wallabies, turtles, dolphins and much more.

Topics to be discussed include:

• benefits of wildlife tourism to the local economy

• ensuring minimal disturbance of wildlife when leading wildlife tours

• the importance of good nature interpretation

• Indigenous interpretation of wildlife: northeastern NSW has a rich history of Indigenous culture which continues today, and heir relationship with both marine and terrestrial wildlife has a long history

• the potential for birdwatching and other wildlife tourism in northeastern NSW, how to get started, and coping with tough times in business

Keynote speaker: Professor Betty Weiler, Southern Cross University, “From Memorable to Meaningful: Tour Guiding as a Tool for Sustainable Tourism”

Read about Betty’s research and teaching experience here:

• http://works.bepress.com/betty_weiler/
  

Cost: $30 per person (including lunch and morning tea)

Who should attend? Tour operators, staff of ecolodges and wildlife parks, business startups, students, researchers, national parks staff, tourism association reps, conservation NGO reps, local government reps etc.

Morning and early afternoon: Presentations, including wildlife of the Carence district, challenges and opportunities of wildlife tourism, economics of wildlife tourism in regional areas, shark tourism, tourism and wildlife conservtion an other topics

Mid-afternoon onwards: a chance to have your say as we break into round-table discussion groups to talk about the diversity of wildlife tourism opportunities, overcoming obstacles etc.

Field trips (optional) Sunday 25^th October to forests and wetlands

RSVP to Ronda Green chair@wildlifetourismaustralia.org.au

Wildlife Tourism Australia Inc.

https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au

Promoting the sustainable development of a diverse wildlife tourism industry that supports conservation

1770 Running Creek Road, Rathdowney Qld 4287

Thanks to our sponsor: Clarence Valley Council