Wildlife Tourism Conference 2016

Where the Wild Things Grow: leadership, partnerships and ethics in wildlife tourism

6-9 November 2016. University of South Australia, Adelaide

The conference, though lower in attendance than last year, was a great success, with many excellent presentations, active discussions and a variety of field trips (many thanks to our major sponsor, DEWNR, for arranging and sponsoring these).

There will soon be photos and a report on the conference: stay tuned! The photo above shows delegates about to board a dolphin cruise at Port Adelaide, organised and funded by DEWNR

Themes:

Leadership in wildlife tourism: developing policy, best practice guidelines and training in quality guiding. Hear case studies from some of the pioneers and leaders of wildlife tourism in Australia and elsewhere.
Partnerships. What has and hasn’t worked involving tour operators working together or with governments, local communities, volunteers and others for mutual benefit. How actual or potential partnerships could more effectively work together for profit and conservation, and what research and action might be needed to increase the effectiveness of citizen science in wildlife tourism
Ethics in tourism: ethical promotion (are we sending realistic messages?), respecting the needs of visitors and other business operators, animal welfare and conservation ethics.

Koalas, Cleland Wildlife Park, Adelaide Hills

Program:

Summary

Thursday to Saturday: optional tours
Sunday 6 November: registration, welcome reception, networking, welcome function and barbecue at Cleland Wildlife Reserve
Monday 7 November: presentations and round-table discussions, walk to bat colony and zoo
Tuesday 8 November: presentations and round-table discussions, special networking evening with SATIC.
Wednesday 9 November: field trip including dolphin cruise, followed by presentations and round-table discussions
Thursday 10 November: field trip to Monarto free-range zoo

*** Click here for details of the program ***

Keynote speakers included:

Albert Teo, a pioneer of and leader in wildlife tourism in Malaysia, author of several books and founder/manager of award-winning ecotourism ventures in Sabah.
Dr Georgette Leah Burns, Griffith University, researcher, lecturer and author of publications on such topics as ethics in wildlife tourism, managing animal-human interactions, and wildlife tourism and the host community, currently researching human-wildlife interaction in wildlife tourism settings.
Shaun de Bruyn,General Manager at South Australian Tourism Industry Council, with an interest in developing tourism in regional areas and a personal knowledge of many of South Australia’s wilderness regions, and extensive experience in small business, tourism and working with government.

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Sponsors

Many thanks to our sponsors