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Indigenous tourism finds market in Europe

palm island 2007 photo courtesy Jose Calarco

2 April 2007 - Aboriginal tourism experiences from Victoria's south-west have been taken to London, Milan, Paris and Berlin.

The Shipwreck Coast, 12 Apostles and Tower Hill have featured in a Tourism Australia roadshow.

The director of the Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative, John Collyer, says there is a big market for cultural tourism and direct bookings to the region have already come out of the trip.

He says the message to overseas tourists is that Aboriginal experiences can be found beyond Uluru and the Kimberlies.

"There are Indigenous experiences wherever you go in Australia," he said.

"Most tourists come to New South Wales and Queensland and Victoria, and the general message is for the Aboriginal experience you need to go to Northern Territory or Western Australia.

"However, the message is very strong, is that there is quality product right across Australia. That's an issue that we deal with in Victoria all the time."

The Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative was one of three Aboriginal bodies in Victoria chosen to go on a recent tourism roadshow through the UK and Europe.

Mr Collyer said people were surprised at the quality of the product.

"It was about presenting a really professional image of the place and proving that you're international ready and proving that you can cope with that sort of new business," he said.
"Certainly people were pleasantly surprised with the message that there were Aboriginal experiences in Victoria."

Source: The ABC

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