Discussion Paper 26 / 1992

An issues paper on 'Aborigines and Tourism' was commissioned by the Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) Tourism Working Group on 3 June 1991. It followed a verbal presentation on Aboriginal issues to the ESD Tourism Working Group by the authors in May 1991. The paper is divided into three parts, as specified in consultancy terms of reference:

1. A review of research on the impacts of tourism on Aboriginal communities.
2. An outline of the characteristics of an ecologically sustainable tourism industry in the context of the industry's interface with Aboriginal communities.
3. A discussion of policy alternatives to achieve an ecologically sustainable tourism industry for Aboriginal communities.

The methodology for the issues paper required a search of the literature, with special reference to the consultants' own work on the impacts of tourism on Aboriginal communities in remote Australia (in Altman's case) and in rural and urban areas in south-east Australia (in Finlayson's case).