The Popular Tourist Destination of Sovereign Hill in Ballarat - Essay Example

THE POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION OF SOVEREIGN HILL IN BALLARAT Introduction Tourist attractions form the key components of a destination’s tourism industry. In the tourism system, tourist attractions serve two main functions: “they stimulate interest in travel to a destination, and they provide visitor satisfaction” (Buhalis & Costa, 2005: 200). Tourist attractions are developing extensively in terms of type, location, scale and form. The changing role of tourist attractions in a more multifaceted tourist destination sector, is concurrent with increasingly competitive innovations and consumer demands in a postmodern world. Sovereign Hill is a multidimensional attraction that depicts the Australian town of Ballarat, around the mid-nineteenth century, about ten years after the discovery of gold in 1851. The attraction offers an excellent example of a “living” museum, “presenting the mining and social history of Australia’s gold rush era” (Buhalis & Costa, 2005: 209). The township is spread over sixty acres of land, has around sixty buildings, 300 costumed staff, 200 costumed volunteers and around 40 horses. The gold rush museum promotes visitor participation and authentic experience through role playing, interactions with characters, and the buildings and artefacts. This is supported by a modern orientation centre which familiarizes visitors with the background of the gold rushes in the 1850s, with the help of audio and video. The tourist destination offers several interesting experiences including activities, events, festivals and a sound and light show “Blood on the Southern Cross” with spectacular lighting and special effects (Buhalis & Costa: 209). Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is a classic example of “staged authenticity”. This paper proposes to outline some of the challenges faced by the tourism operator in trying to commercialize the tourist destination, while at the same time attempting to maintain an authentic experience for the visitors. Discussion A tourist destination is not only a geographical place, it is an integration of products, services, natural resources, built environment, artificial elements and information that attracts a number of visitors to a place (Bieger: 8). The stakeholders are: actual and potential tourists, public administration, tourism operators, conductors of local private tourism activities, operators of non-local tourism activities and the host community. The main objective of tourism operators is the integration of different resources to provide facilities and activities based on policy. Tourism should “meet the needs of different categories of visitors, ensure sustainable growth, and combine private profit and general economic development with the preservation of the host community’s identity and quality of life” (Pechlaner: 151), supported by Swarbrooke (p. 297). As compared to destination management, destination marketing has a narrower focus, on the overall promotion of stakeholders’ interests, the core identity of the destination and the distribution of local tourism products. In the case of the popular tourist destination of Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, in commercialising the tourist destination while at the same time trying to maintain an authentic experience, tourism operators have to face certain challenges such as tourism impacts, ethical concerns and sustainability of the environment (Buhalis & Costa: 230). Authentic Experience of Gold Rush History at Sovereign Hill Visitors can step back in time and relive the history and excitement of the 1850s by participating in panning for real gold at the Diggings. The old streets of the mining town are re-created; and there are shops, hotels, schools, a theatre, crafts, steam-driven machinery, working plant and underground mines for tourists’ visits, which had existed in Ballarat in the era of the gold rush. The tourists can ride throught the streets in horse-driven carriages. Main Street comes alive with characters dressed in costumes of the period (Pretes: 446). It is a living history museum, with people performing their chores dressed in costumes of that time. There is even a re-creation of an early bowling alley, where visitors can have a game (Rowthorn, Landragin & Daly: 310). On the whole, the project has been developed according to the interpretation of a gold rush mining town by the promoters of the tourist destination at Sovereign Hill. Authenticity is promoted as a selling point with the literature about the tourist attraction announcing that the theme park which is the “richest alluvial gold rush in the world”, where one can pan for “real gold” is distinctive as it “faithfully depicts” the period and “the various features of the park are all ‘known to have existed’ in Ballarat in the 1850s” (Pretes: 446). Thus Sovereign Hill is described as an enchanted place where one can relive the past, but in a safe and carefully packaged way. Challenges Faced by the Tourism Operator in Commercializing Sovereign Hill While Trying to Maintain an Authentic Experience In developing tourist destinations, some positive outcomes are that new holiday and entertainment venues are created for the public’s benefit, employment opportunities are generated for the surrounding community, the land is put to profitable use, and foreign travel is encouraged. Tourism can have several negative impacts on the ecological environment of the tourist destination. Due to influx of visitors and demands on the natural, built and human resources, the possible impacts are: deterioration of water quality, disappearance of natural wetlands, collapse of local waste management, loss of biodiversity, destruction of customs, traditions and social relations of indigenous communities, and rapid economic decline of destination’s surrounding community (Schianetz: 3). Sustainable cultural tourism is defined as “a partnership that satisfies both tourism as well and cultural heritage management objectives” and is mutually beneficial (McKercher & Du Cros: 11). Ethical challenges pertaining to environmental issues and sustainability are common to all tourist attractions. These, as well as challenges that are unique to the popular tourist destination of Sovereign Hill such as infrastructure and employment of local labour form some of the important issues that the tourism operators have to resolve through adequate planning, policies and procedures (Swarbrooke: 302). One of the important challenges faced by tourism operators, with regard to Sovereign Hill is attracting international tourists to divert from traditional destinations in major cities to regional Victoria. To meet this challenge, the promoters of Sovereign Hill are using cutting edge technology to enhance its exhibits. At a high cost, the popular sound and light show Blood on the Southern Cross which tells the story of the 1854 Eureka stockade, has been modified to include a six-language narration and hearing impairment service using a leading communications system based on radio signals. The new additions have resulted in increasing numbers of foreign tourists attending the nightly show (AusIndustry: 1). The calculated construction of reality and the staging of authenticity in re-creating history can potentially create depletions from the natural environment of Sovereign Hill and issues with the local community. Attractions management needs to be made more sustainable in different management functions covering planning of environmental issues, human resource management, operations, financial management and marketing. Environmental Issues A proactive approach to environmental matters is recommended (Swarbrooke: 302). Starting from the initial stage of selecting the site, conducting an ecological survey of the site, and designing the complex, detailed discussions with local planners as well as specialist environmental agencies are essential. Roads and other services have to be blended into the landscape to cause minimum disturbance to the environment. Creation of lakes, streams and waterfalls provide appropriate habitats for natural flora. Planting of trees, shrubs and establishment of grassy areas, creating reserves for conservation of existing wildlife in the area, and restoring areas of unproductive land are essential. By sensitive designing of the complex, the area’s wildlife can be enhanced. However, ethical issues on the extent to which it is right to undertake artificial creation of new wildlife habitats, need to be considered. Human Resource Management If community involvement is sought in the development of the project, the tourism operators may face a couple of challenges. This is because many people may not be interested in getting involved due to their other priorities, and also a few people “hijacking” the decision making and not representing the entire community, is possible. Also, most regions are made up of a number of communities based on age, sex, race or religion, with differing views on any issue. Hence, the tourism operators will need to decide which community they will listen to when planning the project (Swarbrooke: 302). For the purpose of generating employment in the local community, the creation of tourist attractions is found to play a beneficial role. The challenge of increasing the sustainability of human resource management can be met by the following measures: Though greater amount of training may be required to raise the service quality at the theme park to the required levels, it is advisable to recruit local people wherever possible. Further, adopting human resource policies that are in line with the local culture and employment practices, even if this means that contentious and controversial problems such as that of equal opportunities have to be dealt with. Training local managers to lead the project, and training staff to understand the importance of green issues and observe environmental sustainability, are essential. Operations Management More sustainable operations management can be undertaken by reducing energy consumption through insulation, and by switching off heating and lighting; while at the same time not compromising on visitors’ quality of experience. This can be facilitated by asking visitors to cooperate in the attempt to conserve the earth’s energy resources. Further, setting up collection points for recyclable items such as bottles, cans and paper, recycling products, reducing waste and ensuring the use of recyclable materials (Swarbrooke: 305). Pollution related to water, air and noise need to be addressed, and actions implemented to reduce pollution. For enhancing sustainability of the local community, purchasing should be from local suppliers as far as possible. It is also important to minimize inconveniences caused to the residents who are neighbours of the tourist destination. This can be done by such precautions as not operating noisy machines at night or on Sundays, and ensuring that delivery lorries do not make deliveries during the times when local roads are already congested, thus preventing additional congestion and air pollution. Controls need to be placed to prevent environmental damage such as erosion of footpaths and increased water pollution, which may occur due to unlimited visitor access to certain parts of the destination. The environmental quality of the tourist attraction should not be allowed to deteriorate, due to financial constraints. It needs to be high priority that the environment should be improved and enhanced through regular cleaning and refurbishment of buildings, and the replacement of plants and trees that die, to ensure plenty of greenery and flora. It is essential that all sectors of visitors, including the disabled and the elderly are able to access the various parts of the tourist destination. Safety issues in all respects also need to be ensured (Swarbrooke: 305). Financial Management The various parts of the attraction as well as the activities and events should be managed in a way that is sustainable and not exploitative. Short term and high rates of returns on investment should not be the target, in spite of the high costs of funding and maintaining the project. A practical way of ensuring financial sustainability is through ensuring the prompt payment of small local suppliers which will help them to stay solvent and also increase goodwill towards the tourist destination among the local community (Swarbrooke: 306). Marketing Management Marketing can contribute greatly in making tourist destinations more sustainable. It is important to be honest in the brochures and advertisements, and using the literature to make potential visitors aware of how they can help to make the attraction “greener” through their own behaviour. Trying to market the attraction to reduce seasonal increase or decrease of visitors, thus reducing the overuse of infrastructure and instalments that can occur during peak seasons. To prevent overcrowding and congestion and to achieve financial objectives from a smaller number of visitors, the marketing should attract higher-spending visitors. Pricing policies should be in favour of local people, and provide concessions for particular groups such as the unemployed and school children. The product should be acceptable to local culture, and it is necessary to ensure that special events at the attraction are not offensive to the opinions of the local community. Further, visitors should be encouraged to use public transport rather than private vehicles, in order to reduce congestion on the roads and air pollution (Swarbrooke: 307). While marketing the re-creation of history at Sovereign Hill, though the Chinese labour experience in the mines is represented in the exhibits in the tourist destination, there is almost no mention of the earlier Aboriginal presence in the area, and no discussion of how mining may have affected the lives of these people. The overall idea is that of a fun and educational experience in the theme park, with Anglo miners being central to the concept; and avoidance of any controversial or unsettling topic. Thus, it is found that the actual narrative of the people who had been indigenous to the area, and whose lives were impacted by the onset of the gold rush, is either distorted, suppressed or omitted (Pretes: 446). McKercher & Du Cros (2002: 40) agree that “assets cannot be presented in an intimidating or accusatory manner” that blames the visitor as being the cause of the problem. It is important to remember that most tourists are pleasure travelers whose purpose is to escape and have some fun-filled experiences which contribute to an enjoyable vacation. Hence, the tourist operators’ priority is to asertain that the theme park provides entertainment and enjoyment for the visitors, keeping in mind the ethical aspects of tourism impacts and sustainability of the environment. Conclusion This paper has highlighted some of the challenges faced by the tourism operator in trying to commercialize the tourist destination of Sovereign Hill at Ballarat, while at the same time attempting to maintain an authentic experience for the visitors. Many toursists wish to experience at a tourist destination what they believe is authenticity, but not necessarily reality. “The purpose-built heritage theme park of Sovereign Hill in Ballarat satisfies this need for an authentic experience for most visitors” (McKercher & Du Cros: 42). Tourism can have several positive and negative impacts. The tourism operator needs to build on the positive outcomes as well as resolve the challenges presented by the negative impacts by integrated management functions covering planning of environmental issues, human resource management, operations management, financial management and marketing. Thus the benefits of commercialisation and providing authentic experience can be achieved concurrently. Works Cited AusIndustry. Sovereign Hill: Success Story. An Australian Government Initiative. 2006. Available at: http://www.ausindustry.gov.au/library/SovereignHillforweb20060523041030.pdf Bieger, T. Reengineering destination marketing organizations – the case of Switzerland. Tourist Review, 53.3 (1998): 4-17. Buhalis, Dimitrios & Costa, Carlos. Tourism business frontiers: consumers, products and industry. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 2005. McKercher, Bob & Du Cros. Cultural tourism: the partnership between tourism and cultural heritage. The United Kingdom: Haworth Press. 2002. Pechlaner, H. Management of tourism destinations combines. In Manente, M. & Cerato, M. (eds.). From destination to destination marketing and management: designing and repositioning tourism products. Venice: Cafoscarina, 9-13. 2000. Pretes, Michael. Touring mines and mining tourists. Annals of Tourism Research, 29.2 (2002): 439-456. Rowthorn, Chris, Landragin, Alex & Daly, Kate. Victoria: wineries, festivals and great escapes. Australia: Lonely Planet Publications. 2002. Schianetz, Karin. Challenges of sustainability assessment for tourism destinations. 4th National Conference for Tourism Futures, 2-5 October, 2005. Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre. Available at: http://www.tonycharters.com/ttff/Tuesday/Concurrent1/sustainable_development/Tues%201430%20waianbah%20Karin%20Schianetz.pdf Swarbrooke, John. The development and management of visitor attractions. Great Britain: Butterworth-Heinemann. 2001. Read More