Tourism as a Major Source of Income in New South Wales - Essay Example

Running Head: Tourism Tourism Customer’s Name: Institution: Customer’s Course Tutor’s Name February 1, 2013. Introduction Tourism seems to be a major source of income in New South Wales. The government have over time developed a policy that stipulates that the expansion of the Aboriginals tourism ought to be dome in consultation with and also in a way that seems to be acceptable to the Aboriginals communities and thus it must not be imposed from outside. The major concern is usually related to the fact that the Aboriginals heritage is not degraded and this it is protected from any form of inappropriate tourism initiatives. The Aboriginals Australians are termed as the custodians of one amongst the world’s dominant and oldest cultures. Various research which have been carried out offers a lot of literature and they indicates that visitors form oversees tend to have a heightened level of interest when it comes to Aboriginals heritage and culture since according to them it offers a true and unique Australian experience (Baloglu & Bringberg, 2006). The Aboriginals Australians seems to be in the most appropriate position to determine the accurate representation of their own culture and this is mainly done through art and craft, painting, interpretation of the local area as well as through story telling. When Aboriginals tourism is managed sensitively there can be the creation of economic benefits for the people and thus enhancement of the appreciation of the rich culture in the international communities and in the wider areas of Australia. Economic benefits International and local interest in Aboriginals spiritual beliefs, arts and social customs has expanded significantly over the years. Public organization and a number of businesses arte gained a lot of interest on the economic benefits of tourism at local, state and national level. One tends to overhear claims that tourism has a greater support for various jobs in a certain area or at times festivals and other special events have generated a certain amount of sales and income for the community (Blank & Chiesa, 2007). The economic benefits of tourism are taunted by the industries due to a number of reasons. With the main one been based on the heightened as well as improved level of policy making so as to make the business more favorable in the eyes of the local communities. To the international visitors, the Aboriginals culture basically defines what seems to be a unique aspect of Australia. While the growth of interest has brought about a number of benefits and opportunities, there also seems to be some dangers since most people tend to misinterpret and exploit the Aboriginals culture. Most visitors have misunderstood and they have also failed to give due respect to the Aboriginals culture. There seems to be a growing awareness that cultural celebrations and awareness can be used as a means of countering the complex problems that are closely associated with loss of the ideal identity and self esteem. Tourism seems to be an important aspect since it acts as a means of enhancing greater appreciation and understanding of richness and diversity of the culture of the Aboriginals amongst the non Aboriginals people and thus it tends to works in the breaking down of any cultural ignorance that may be present in the process. There seems to be a number of economic benefits that are closely associated with tourism and they include: the creation of a sustainable employment, development of economic self channels and sufficiency funds in the Aboriginals communities preservation of heritage records and sites, conservation and interpretation of the Aboriginals culture for the future and present generation promotion of Aboriginals culture among the non Aboriginals communities and within the Aboriginals people and thus encouraging reconciliation The creation of a sustainable employment, development of economic self sufficiency and channels funds in the Aboriginals communities Most employment structures that are present in the modern day working environment have shifted to the hourglass economy (Baretje, 2005) in that some of the employees hold high rewarding jobs with prejudice been made on their working patterns even as the simultaneously gradually the workers will find themselves in low paying jobs which is characterized by routine work at times unskilled employment. To add it up there also seems to be some fears which are related to the polarization of the opportunities that exist in the labor market between the lovely jobs and the lousy jobs (Bull, 2006), there also seems to be concerns that are related to the reforms in welfare and they act in a manner to benefit the claimants there are concerns that welfare towards the poor quality jobs even as the government takes on small measures in the aim of improving the quality of jobs that are on offer in the labor market. Irrespective of the fact that New South Wales have high levels of employment, a great number of individuals have a difficult in be able to stay in work for long periods. In New South Wales tourism seems to offer a great number of jobs to the local people. This is mainly based on the large number of opportunities that are available in the tourism industry as a whole. The core idea of tourism is to create sustainable employment opportunities for a great number of people. Sustainable employment is commonly referred to as the high level policy goal which tends to focus a lot of attention on the appropriate employment options for households and individuals. The goal tends to contribute to the maintenance of social cohesion and human capital for New South Wales and thus ensures that there is supply of labor. Another common definition of sustainable employment is that it refers to the achievement of economic independence all through the working lives of individuals. In broad terms sustainable employment is refers to the individual’s ability to maintain and gain quality wok offer his/her working lives and at the same time maintaining proper health as well as wellbeing and having the right work context and opportunity so as to be able to transfer the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to another kind of job, role or future working place. The employers, society government and employee have a great role to play when it come to developing, debating and promoting sustainable employment. Thus the employers, employees, government ought to make sure that the programs and polices are put in practice so as to ensure that there is sustainable employment in the tourism industry. In respect to this the employees are supposed to be entrepreneurs in their own career development and in their own lives (Whelan, 2005). Australia has been taking a number of radical steps which are aimed at ensuring that there is sustainable employment for all. In respect to these there are funds which are available to assist organization and industries for example the tourism inducts to offer support to the employees to be able to have more qualification and by these the employees tend to have greater skills and they also increase there prospects for potential mobility. Economic self sufficiency is commonly termed as the ability of a certain group of people or an individual and their families to consistently meet all their needs that is food, utilities, housing, transport, healthcare, taxes and clothing within a small amount or no financial assistance or else subsidies from any public and private organization. Tourism at times makes a country to be economic sufficient in that all the commodities that are consumed and used by the tourist are usually derived from New South Wales (Wilkinson, 2006). The commodities many include but are not limited to food products, labor as well as services. Tourism tends to provide a lot of income generating products to the local communities. It also offers all the required funds in the protection of the various sites that are present in New South Wales and thus acting as a great source of generating income and other economic development in New South Wales. Also tourism can eventually lead to greater level of education of the tourists and thus turn them in top advocates for the preservation of the natural environment around them. Tourism at times requires significant human resources and it also creates jobs for both the skills and unskilled workers. Tourism development plays a vital role in the improvement of the quality of lives of the local communities. Tourism is therefore seem as been the strongest economic branch all over the world, and to owns almost 12% of all the areas of activity and have a revenue base of about 530 billion in very year (World Tourism Organization, 2000). Over the years there have been an increase in demand for tourism products and this has eventually lead to an increase in revenue generated from the tourism activities. Preservation of heritage records and sites, conservation and interpretation of the Aboriginals culture for the future and present generation Cultural heritage was once limited to archeological sites, monuments and other movable heritage collection but currently it includes vernacular heritage, historical urban spaces, cultural landscapes and also dimension of heritage and all the other aspects that offers spiritual and physical relationship between the environment and other human societies. The World Bank also have another broader definition that incorporates both immovable and movable sites, structures, objects natural features and landscape that tend to have aesthetic, paleontological and archaeological significance. It is commonly believed that most heritage sites and records have cultural and natural features that are of value to their community. The natural features may include aspects such as native animals, remnant bushes, water bodies and geological formations. Some places also tend to have ‘intangible’ features that essential to the communities heritage significance. The intangible aspects may include aspects such as events, rituals, traditions, and practices that are closley associated with a particular the place (World Tourism Organization, 2000). Cultural heritage in Aboriginals Australia need to be addressed by cultural heritage should be a CMP where appropriate. The cultural heritage sites and record in New South Wales are protected in the Aboriginals heritage act of the year 2006. And according to the act the cultural heritage sites may include places and aspects such as natural features, land, water, structures and building that are closely linked to the Aboriginals culture, people and history. The significance of the heritage sites and records needs to be well thought out when it comes to the management, preservation and conservation of heritage sites and records and it may include aspects ranging from general routine practices to proposing any adequate changes that may be deemed relevant. Through the conservation of cultural heritage the Aboriginals Australian will be able to protect economic value of the assets and they will also be able to preserve environment, history, practices as well as a sense of identity and continuity (Wright, 2005). The Aboriginals Australians living in New South Wales tend to be more sensitive when it comes to issues related to intellectual property and copyright of their cultural works and this is mostly related to their dances, art works and songs. Based on this they will be able to preserve their cultural heritage and own it fully. They also have a great level of care on the sale and use of the Aboriginals mages and designs, photographs, general artworks and language. Those who will adopt and use their art works are supposed to use them in the right manner. This will eventually ensure that there is preservation of their culture and otter heritage sites. In New South Wales there is also constant renovations and maintenance of certain heritage sites which are present in the areas. The visitors who visit these areas are enlightened about the importance of such sites and they are also taught about their history. Through this the local community is able to preserve these sites for attraction of so many more visitors (Wright, 2005). In the heritage sites there are also story tellers and interpreters who assist the visitors in the areas, the story tellers are usually performers and guides. And the role of guides and performers are usually taken up by the local Aboriginals people since there have a great level of cultural experience and they act as adequate guides and interpreters to the visitors. Also in the heritage sites there are presentations and performance of music, dance and songs in the aim of entertaining the customers and thus making tourism activities as an economic benefit to the community since it will be able to attract a great number of people in the future. Also in the heritage sites there is constant sale and reproduction of Aboriginals crafts, artworks and artefacts. This ensures that the culture is known and appreciated in various parts of the world since most of the tourists tend to come from different continents in the world. The Aboriginals also expect a great level of respect for the Aboriginals culture, law, and customs and believe and every one visiting the historical sites is supposed to have obtained the permission form the relevant authorities and paid all the dues (Gössling, 2002). In the aim of preserving and conserving the cultural and other historical sites in Australia there are a number of steps that are followed. The forts step is conservation which entails all the actions and processes of taking care after a place in the aim of retaining the natural significance. The other phase is the protection phase and it includes taking care of the heritage sites by managing effects in the aim of ensuring that the natural significance of the items if retained. This phase is closely followed by the maintenance stage and it involves continuous and protective care of the geo-diversity and bio-diversity of the heritage sites (Gössling, 2002). The core aim of cultural preservation and conservation is based on ensuring that a great number of the heritage sites are retained for the future generation. In the year 1979, the government of Australia adopted a charter that outlines the general philosophies as well as principles that will aid the country in preserving their cultural heritage. The Burra charter and it became the backbone when it came to issues related to the management of the various historic places that exist in Australia and more precisely in New South Wales. Based on the charter, conservation means that all the processes and policies that are in place are aimed at retaining the cultural significance of the rehabilitated place. The aspect of conservation may include aspects such as maintenance, restoration, preservation, reconstruction and adaptation and in most instances it will include one or a combination of nay of the above mentioned aspects. Another aspect that is considered when it comes to the preservation of the sites and records is the authorization. When visiting the sites or viewing the already stored records one need to take good care to ensure that the record can be viewed by someone else at a later date. This will eventually ensure that the culture, records and the heritage sites are viewed by the future generation and thus they will be able to uphold and appreciate their culture. Also based on the fact that most of the indigenous Aboriginals people are aging there seems to be an urgent need to conserve and interpret the culture. The older people in the society seem to pass the information to the younger generation so as to enhance the continuity of their culture. Thus the individuals in the society will have to play a leading and active role so as to ensure that all the individuals in the society are aware of their own culture and that they are willing to pass it down to the generations to come after them. Through the passing down of the information, the culture will be preserved and conserved. The aspect of interpretation also need t be adhered to the Aboriginals Australians need to interpret their culture in an easily understandable manner and in a language that can be understood by the modern day people. This will ensure that the younger generations in the society are more willing to participate in their culture. Promotion of Aboriginals culture among the non Aboriginals communities and within the Aboriginals people and thus encouraging reconciliation Most people assume that Aboriginals people form a single state and this seems not to be the case. In reality, the Aboriginals Australians are multicultural and they have up to 300 Aboriginals nation states that seek almost 250 languages. The Aboriginals culture seems to be among the oldest cultures in the globe. The cultures seem to be both living and evolving but they also tend to have a continuous connection with the past. Through the connections the Aboriginals communities are able to gather from thousands of years of wisdom, law and knowledge. Tourism can lead to the promotion of the culture in both the non Aboriginals and the Aboriginals communities (Myers et al., 2000). This can be done through a number of ways for example through various exchange programs. For example the Aboriginals Australians can be bale to organize periodic dances and ceremonies in the local community. This will offer a chance to the non Aboriginals to appreciate and see their culture. Also during such events they can take the opportunity to state and educate the non Aboriginals on the importance of certain social activities that they carry out. Through this there will tend to be a clear and closer understanding of their culture and thus preservation and appreciation of the culture by all. The other groups that will be targeted are the young generation of the Aboriginals since they do not seem to know much about their culture and thus they will be offered with an opportunity to learn their culture and hence appreciate it (Loeb & Corcoran, 2001). New South Wales also have a website which promotes the mission and goals of promotion of their culture between all the members of the society. The website is a modern means in which the government and the members of the community are able to pass the message to a great number of people all over the world. The website also have some linked pages which gives a clear history of the culture of the Aboriginals Australians and various contact information in any one may be interested in the culture. There are also a wide range of books which offers the culture and the history of the community. The cost associated with printing such books seems to be inexpensive since most of the associated costs are catered for by grants and also by sponsors. The books usually cats as educational resources for the students and also for those who may take up history as an area of study. Through tourism the community is usually able to raise the required funds to as to be able to fund any future projects and the books are at times even sold to the global market places. The cultural heritage group in Australians also has made connections with other similar groups in the world in a bid to people uphold and respect their culture. The Aboriginals Australians have a lot of respect on their culture and thus they ensure that even other communities around them have a respect for their culture (Hoyt, 2001). Critique While tourism have been said to bring to have economic benefits to a region the economic self sufficiency can be damaging to a country, region and the industry. There were times when each one of the country and state used to survive in their own but with the aspect of globalization things have really changed (Cooper & Wahab, 2001). For example in the past regions used to make their own tools weapons, hut and clothes. As the human population grew, the supply of food dwindled. And currently most developed countries mainly depend of their monthly salaries to buy clothes, food and shelter rather than spend a considerate amount of time making them. Thus though one of the economic benefits of tourism is economic self sufficiency it can be at times be damaging and thus the need for resources from other parts of the country or the world. Also based on the above discussion the aspect of sustainable employment seems to be irrelevant and not achievable since most tourists’ activities requires seasonal services and thus people who are working in tourist attraction sites are likely to lose jobs if the tourists are not visiting their areas. And thus the people who used to have high salary ranges may end up moving into job opportunities that are routine work and are not paying as much as their earlier jobs. Irrespective of the various economic benefits that are closely associated with tourism, it also tends to have certain costs. It has been found that most locations tend to attract a great number of the elderly tourists who in most instances are retired and they are seeking for permanent places to stay. In response to the high demand of such houses the prices of houses tend to rise to levels that cannot be afforded by the local communities (Eagles, 2002). Also due to tourism there seems to potentially rise in the items that are sold in the tourist attraction sites in New South Wales and this mainly leads to the rise of the everyday commodities that are used by the local communities. Another cost that is closely associated with tourism is that the authorities who are charged with the duty of taking care of the parks tend to control the services, land and shops that are present in their areas of jurisdiction. So when items or other associated aspects do not meet the rules and policies they are forced to comply with them. This may eventually lead to the relocation of people to other areas and it may eventually eliminate activities such as agriculture. This seems to be a contradiction since areas which do not hoist tourist are not governed by such authorities (Eagles, McCool & Haynes, 2002). Additionally tourism may eventually lead to the disturbance and destruction of animals as well as crops and this may have a great impact on the farmers in the area. Also based on the fact that there are times when the number of tourist visiting certain areas are many for example during the winter seasons, the number of seasonal workers who will be required to work in the areas will increase. The seasonal workers are usually from other areas and thus the community tends to lose a lot of resources. Most Aboriginals people tend to have their own prospective as well as priorities and thus they are patronized since they are able to make their own objectives without having to adjust to the views of the non Aboriginals. Thus the non Aboriginals who may want to venture in tourism and other business activities need to be so sensitive in relation to the core differences that tend to exist between the two groups of cultures and thus there will be avoidance of cultural or racial stereotyping. Through this there will be reconciliation between the two groups of people who tend to have different cultures. The non Aboriginals will therefore have a cross cultural awareness which will be endorsed by the Aboriginals community. The participants in the cross cultural training needs to spend a considerable mount of their time with the Aboriginals communities so as to facilitate reconciliation (Holloway, 2006). Conclusion A key aspect that needs to be considered so as to ensure the sustainability of most Australian businesses including the tourism industry is the achievement of all the appropriate balance between responsiveness to the demands in the market and cultural integrity. The guiding factors to a region or a certain business to serve the tourists that are coming to the areas are basically economic. A business in most instances is more interested on their own revenues as well as costs, while the region and the community seemed to be more concerned about the overall contribution that is made by tourism to their economy as well as the environmental, social and fiscal impacts of the tourism activities. A clear and concise understanding of the economic benefits that are brought about by the various tourism activities seems to be important for all the stakeholders involved that is the government, the community as well as the tourism industry. References Baloglu, S. & Bringberg, D. (2006). Affective images of tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 35(4), 11-15. Baretje, R. (2005). Tourism’s external account and balance of payments, Annals of Tourism Research, 9(2), 57-67. Blank, J. & Chiesa, T. Eds. (2007). The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007. World Economic Forum, Geneva Switzerland. Bull, A. (2006). The Economics of Travel and Tourism. Australia: Longman. Cooper, C, & Wahab, S. eds. (2001). Tourism in the Age of Globalization. London: Routledge. Eagles, P. F. J. (2002) Trends in Park Tourism: Economics Finance and Management. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 10 (2), 132-153. Eagles, P. F. J., McCool, S. F. and Haynes, C. D. (2002). Sustainable Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas: Guidelines for Planning and Management. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: World Conservation Union. Gössling, S. (2002). Funds for Biodiversity. Environmental Conservation 29 (4), 411-413. Holloway, J.C. (2006). The Business of Tourism. UK: Longman. Hoyt, E. (2001). Whale watching 2001: Worldwide tourism numbers, expenditures and expanding socio-economic benefits. Yarmouth Port: International Fund for Animal Welfare. Loeb, S. & Corcoran, M. (2001). Welfare, work experience, and economic self-sufficiency. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20(1), 1-20. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., da Fonseca, G. A. B. and Kent, J. (2000). Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation priorities. Nature, 403, 853-858. Whelan, T. (2005). Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment. Washington, DC: Island Press. Wilkinson, J (2006). Tourism in NSW: Prospects for the Current Decade. Retrieved from: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/a5480d46a9ce0129ca25717d00161d52/$FILE/Tourism%20in%20NSW&Index.pdf World Tourism Organization (2000). Marketing. Madrid: WTO. Wright, P. (2005). Tourism: ethics or eco-sell? Journal of Travel Research, 32, 3-9. Read More

With the main one been based on the heightened as well as improved level of policy making so as to make the business more favorable in the eyes of the local communities. To the international visitors, the Aboriginals culture basically defines what seems to be a unique aspect of Australia. While the growth of interest has brought about a number of benefits and opportunities, there also seems to be some dangers since most people tend to misinterpret and exploit the Aboriginals culture. Most visitors have misunderstood and they have also failed to give due respect to the Aboriginals culture.

There seems to be a growing awareness that cultural celebrations and awareness can be used as a means of countering the complex problems that are closely associated with loss of the ideal identity and self esteem. Tourism seems to be an important aspect since it acts as a means of enhancing greater appreciation and understanding of richness and diversity of the culture of the Aboriginals amongst the non Aboriginals people and thus it tends to works in the breaking down of any cultural ignorance that may be present in the process.

There seems to be a number of economic benefits that are closely associated with tourism and they include: the creation of a sustainable employment, development of economic self channels and sufficiency funds in the Aboriginals communities preservation of heritage records and sites, conservation and interpretation of the Aboriginals culture for the future and present generation promotion of Aboriginals culture among the non Aboriginals communities and within the Aboriginals people and thus encouraging reconciliation The creation of a sustainable employment, development of economic self sufficiency and channels funds in the Aboriginals communities Most employment structures that are present in the modern day working environment have shifted to the hourglass economy (Baretje, 2005) in that some of the employees hold high rewarding jobs with prejudice been made on their working patterns even as the simultaneously gradually the workers will find themselves in low paying jobs which is characterized by routine work at times unskilled employment.

To add it up there also seems to be some fears which are related to the polarization of the opportunities that exist in the labor market between the lovely jobs and the lousy jobs (Bull, 2006), there also seems to be concerns that are related to the reforms in welfare and they act in a manner to benefit the claimants there are concerns that welfare towards the poor quality jobs even as the government takes on small measures in the aim of improving the quality of jobs that are on offer in the labor market.

Irrespective of the fact that New South Wales have high levels of employment, a great number of individuals have a difficult in be able to stay in work for long periods. In New South Wales tourism seems to offer a great number of jobs to the local people. This is mainly based on the large number of opportunities that are available in the tourism industry as a whole. The core idea of tourism is to create sustainable employment opportunities for a great number of people. Sustainable employment is commonly referred to as the high level policy goal which tends to focus a lot of attention on the appropriate employment options for households and individuals.

The goal tends to contribute to the maintenance of social cohesion and human capital for New South Wales and thus ensures that there is supply of labor. Another common definition of sustainable employment is that it refers to the achievement of economic independence all through the working lives of individuals. In broad terms sustainable employment is refers to the individual’s ability to maintain and gain quality wok offer his/her working lives and at the same time maintaining proper health as well as wellbeing and having the right work context and opportunity so as to be able to transfer the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to another kind of job, role or future working place.

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