Developing Sustainable Tourism In Tasmania: Roles, Responsibilities & Challenges – AFTA

Key Roles and Responsibilities

The work that I undertook was on behalf of Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) which aims at developing tourism in Tasmania, Australia. We work in the different parts of Australia in order to support the needs of sustainable tourism practices and thereby make the people aware of the needs of undertaking the sustainable approach (Buckley  2012).

The functions that are undertaken by the organization is a national level function as it aims at enhancing the tourism options in the nation at large and not at some specific regions of Australia (Bramwell  2013). The different challenges that are faced by the national tourism industry is being identified by the agency functions and thereby favourable steps are undertaken by the agency in order to bring in sustenance in the tourism industry of the nation.

1. To identify the different issues that are faced by the different tourist locations in the nation.
2. Identifying the market potentials of the different locations relating to its capabilities to attract the attention of the foreign visitors (Waligo,   Clarke  and Hawkins  2013)
3. Bringing forth different changes in order to undertake sustainable tourism for the rise in the economic position of the region
4. Monitoring over the changes and thereby implementing other improvement procedures in order to support the sustainability of the region.

The interests of the agency are based on the profitability of the venture through the enhanced tourism in the different parts of the nation. The sustainability tourism will be helping the organization in enhancing the GDP of the nation. On the other hand, the enhanced scopes of tourism will be helping the organization in expanding their scopes of business making in the Australian borders (Gibson,   Kaplanidou  and Kang  2012).   

• What are the internal and external influences upon the agency/business?

The different internal factors that influence the functioning of the agency is due to the lack of skilled workforce which is unable to match up with the expectations of the organization. On the other hand, the external influences are based on the government regulations and the other sustainable tourism methods that restrict the proper functioning of the business.

• What are the specific goals and objectives of the policy issue or problem to be addressed?

The different goals of the agency is based on the identification of the issues relating to the indulgence of human related factors that results to land degradation and over utilization of natural resources through the effects of growth in the tourism activities in Tasmania, Australia (Hunter  2012).

• How will your plan address these?

The plan of addressing the issue will be based on the identification of the issue in Tasmania and thereby help the related authorities to induce proper policies in order to promote sustainable tourism practices in the region (Ruhanen  2013). It will be helping the nation in maintaining the economic advantage and thereby maintain the aesthetic value of the tourist spots.   It will be helping the different tourism departments in portraying the heritage of Australia to the visitors thereby attracting their attention without compromising on the lifestyle and the natural resources of the local communities.

Background Context

The increase in the tourism activities in Tasmania has resulted to land degradation and quick depletion of the natural resources on which the local communities are dependent. The increase in the solid wastes and littering has affected the soil quality. On the other hand, the overutilization of the different resources has affected the proper f8uncttioning of the sustainable approach that is planned by the tourism industry. The depletion of the local resources has affected the lifestyle of the local communities (Lozano-Oyola et al. 2012). The infrastructural growth of the area has relentlessly pressurized the natural resources like water and availability of food. On the other hand, the lack of proper treatment of the C&D wastes that are generated through the construction projects in the tourism development sites has filled the environment of the region which has created pressure on the lifestyle of the different living organisms that  thrive in the region. Contaminations that are carried forward by the tourists create situations of epidemics, which affect the people and the other living organisms in the region. On the other hand, the shortage of food and housing in the region has created situation of over pressurization on the available resources of the region. As per an environment report published in Australia, some 27% of the wastes are generated through the increase of tourism activities by 8%. Therefore, It can be stated that the sustainable approach of tourism is affected through the increased tourism activities and the lack of proper regulations that would helps in protecting the environment of the region. Jamal  and Camargo (2014) stated that the involvement of the tourism activities has efficiently helps in improving the economic conditions of the local people. Tourism is one of the major source of income for the people which has helped in attracting revenue from the diverse lands. It has helped in enhancing the lifestyle of the people and thereby collect funds for undertaking steps for maintaining the sustainability of the region.   

Therefore, apart from the different disadvantages of excessive tourism activities, there are different fascinating factors of supporting the economic growth of the region and the lifestyle of the local communities. The imposition of the sustainable regulations will be helping the environment protection agencies in maintaining the proficiency of the sustainably functions as per the objectives of the growth of the tourism industry in the region (Hall,   Scott  and Gössling  2013).  

• What is your geographic delimitation/focus?

The geographic focus for the study of tourism development systems will be undertaken in Tasmania of Australia. Tasmania is an isolated island far off the Australian south coast, which is known for its large-  protected wildlife reserves and sanctuaries. The different attraction that is provided by the land for the tourists are mainly for the wildlife reserves and the sanctuaries (Hall  2013).

• What visitor numbers, income and employment issues are relevant?

As per an employment survey, it was found that around 11.2 % of the youth face the issues relating to unemployment in the regions. However, it was also found that most of the economy of Tasmania is dependent on the tourism activities that are undertaken in the region (Graci  2013).  According to the Tasmanian Visitor Survey around 1.26 million visitors travelled to Tasmania. It has helped in enhancing the economic conditions of the region through the tourism based activities.   

• What are the issue drivers?

The different issues that are faced by the nation are based on the human related activities that are undertaken due to the development of the tourism industry. The region faces issues relating to the environmental aspects. The heavy construction works that are undertaken by the agencies in order to support the needs of the tourists has affected the region. The socio- economic aspects of the issue relating to extensive tourism practices is based on the depletion of the natural resources which are made limited for the local communities. It has affected the health and the wellbeing of the local inhabitants of the region (Torres-Delgado  and Palomeque  2014). On the other hand, the other adverse effects of the tourism development in the nation are based on the outspread of contamination through the different visitors, which gets into the food chain most abruptly. It affects the biodiversity of the region.  Moreover, the different tax and legal impositions that are made by the Australian government have limited the scope of tourism in the lands.  It has affected the rate of foreign visitors into the land. The key aspects of the issues are based on the land use and the manner in which the land is utilized with the view of maximizing the economic gains without considering the needs of conserving the different available non-renewable resources of the region. It has affected the proper functioning of the tourism industry while operating in the different international scenario (García-Melón,   Gómez-Navarro  and Acuña-Dutra  2012).

The different infrastructural growth that is being undertaken by the agencies  in order to develop  the scopes of tourism has affected the environment of Tasmania. The degradation of soil and the other factors relating to pollution has affected the proper functioning of the systems of the business operations while operating in the international markets. 

The issues that are faced by Tasmania due to the increase in the tourism development is due to the degradation of the soil and air quality which is polluted by the activities of the tourists. on the other hand, the different steps that are undertaken by the tourism agencies in order to support the needs of the tourists has affected the   quality of the lifestyle and the resource use in the area (Ruhanen et al.   2015). Therefore, policies are required to be formulated in order to regulate the tourism activities by the application of the norms that supports the sustainable tourism approach. It will be helping the organization in maintaining the proficiency of the conservation methods that are undertaken by the government. The formulation of the different policies will be helping the environmental protection agencies in maintaining the proficiency of sustainable tourism options. The sustainable tourism options will be helping the organizations in maintaining the conservation approach and thereby reduce the pressurization of tourism on the local resources.

• Why is the plan needed?

The plan is needed in order to undertake the sustainable approach in the tourism practices. Tourism practices have helped in enhancing the economic position of Tasmania. The increased amount of visitors to the place has helped in maintaining the efficacy of the conservation efforts that are undertaken by the environmental protection organizations. The plan will be outlaying the pathway of the different activities that are required to be undertaken by the organization in order to maintain the sustainable approach. On the other hand, the plans will be identifying the different issues that are faced by tourism in Tasmania. The economic enhancement of Tasmania is based on the different tourism activities relating to the Foreign investment and balance of payment , which has helped in bringing forth different developments in the nation (Tanguay,   Rajaonson  and Therrien  2013). The key elements of change in the systems of sustainable tourism is based on the formulation of the different key aspects of change in the systems of the tourism, which affects the proper functioning of the systems of the business while operating in the diverse markets. The plan thereby acts as a regulatory object, which helps in upholding the sustainable factors of the tourism events that are planned by the different agencies in Tasmania.

• What is the role of government? Business?

Government plays the role in imposing different sustainable legislations and promoting the culture and heritage of the tourism spots. It will be helping the governments in maintaining the attracting the attention of the visitors from the diverse nations, which will be helping to improve the balance of payment objectives of the nation. On the other hand, the businesses has helped in the growth of the tourism ventures in Tasmania through the growth of infrastructural growth and other amenities that will be helping in the suitable development of the tourist spots.

• Who are the stakeholders?

The different stakeholders who are included with the proper functioning of the sustainable tourism are the different environmental protection agencies, the governing bodies of the region, construction companies and the tourists (Mihalic  2016). The involvement of the stakeholders in the sustainable tourism practices helps in maintaining the efficacy of the functions as per the objectives of the tourism development.

• What are the key trends that influence this issue?

The key trends that might influence the issues that are faced by the Tasmanian tourism industry is based on the improper development of the industry in the region which is affecting the land use and the limiting the local resources. It has affected the proper functioning of the systems of the business while operating in the international markets (Angelevska-Najdeska  and Rakicevik  2012). The trend of the growing tourism activities in the region has exerted enormous pressure on the local available resources, which has affected the sustainable factors of the region deliberately.

• What are the challenges and how can the agency respond?

The different challenges that might be faced by the region are based on the over exertion of the local resources and the pressurization on the land use resulting to degradation. On the other hand, the outspread of different contaminations is affecting the lifestyle and health of the local communities residing in Tasmania. Therefore, the agency must take steps to make the people aware of the different aspects of the sustainable tourism activities and the manner in which the proper functioning of the sustainable ventures can be undertaken.  On the other hand, the  agency might take steps to formulate different  course of actions in order to implement the  sustainable policies in actions. It will be helping the agency in meeting up with the different sustainable challenges that are faced by the tourism industry in Tasmania (Jovicic  2014). 

• What are possible reasons for government/business intervention?

The different government and business interventions will be helping in strengthening the sustainable ventures. The intervention of the government is required in order to identify the issues and thereby formulate different policies in order to maintain the efficacy of the sustainable tourism practices (Cohen et al.  2014). On the other hand, the intervention of the business organizations in the different ventures of sustainable tourism is based on the infrastructural growth and the provisions for different amenities which will be attracting the attention of the  diverse tourists as per their needs. It will be helping the nation in maintaini8ng the efficacy of the sustainable tourism practices.  

• What are the likely desirable effects, benefits and/or outcomes from the plan?

The desirable outcome of the plan will be based on the enhancement of the tourism options for the different tourists as per their needs while operating in the international markets. The application of the different policies will be helping the organization in upholding the efficacy of the sustainable tourism (Sigala  2014).  On the other hand, the sustainable tourism plan will also be helping Tasmania in increasing the foreign investment rates that will be helping the same to fund up different conservative approaches that are undertaken by the governing bodies (Amir et al. 2015).  

• What are some possible policy/plan approaches?

The plan is  undertaken with an holistic approach of conserving the aesthetic value of the wilderness as the sustainable measure. The application of the holistic approach will be helping the agency in maintaining the proficiency of the sustainable tourism activities as per the objectives of the growth in the tourism industry (Saufi,   O’Brien  and Wilkins  2014).

• Which instruments might be appropriate for your plan?

The instruments that will be utilized while undertaking the plan is through proper communication media, which will be helping the agency in making the relevant stakeholders aware of the different sustainable issues that are faced by Tasmania (Simão  and Partidário  2012). The proper utilization of the communication channels will be helping the organizations in maintaining the efficacy of the change in the approaches, which will be supporting the growth of the systems of the business while operating in the diverse markets.

• Could several instruments be used more effectively? (advocacy, money, government action, law) Why?

The different other instruments are more effective like proper governing over the functions of sustainable tourism practices  will be helping in maintaining the efficacy of the functions of the business while operating in the international markets (Torres-Delgado  and Saarinen  2014). On the other hand, the government action and law impositions will be helping to  maintain the proficiency of the sustainable functions of the organizations while operating in the different contexts.

• What types of resources are required?

The different resources that might be required for the plan is the infrastructural growth and the different communicational methods through which the stakeholders of the tourism industry can be informed of the different changes in the systems and functioning (Albrecht  2013). On the other hand, the different roles that re played by the environmental protection agencies will be helping the tourism industry in maintaining the efficacy of the different functions as per the sustainable needs of the same while operating in the external markets. The utilization of the digital media for supporting the needs of integrating the Information Technology with the tourism practices will be helping in upholding the efficacy of the knowledge sharing tool.

• What are the advantages or disadvantages of the policy/plan?

The different advantages of the policy are due to the sustainable nature of the functions that are planned by the industry in order to encourage foreign investments in the processes of the tourism industry. On the other hand, there are different disadvantages of the formulation of the policy due to lack of proper communicational tools which might affect the proper functioning of the sustainable tourism processes as per the objectives of the business.

• How can the policy/plan provide direction?

The policy or plan will be helping the tourism industry in maintaining the efficacy of the sustainable tourism practices for the upliftment of the local communities and thereby support the funding needs through the foreign investments, which will be helping the organizations in maintaining the conservative approach of the wilderness. On the other hand, the sustainable tourism will be helping the region in bringing forth different economic changes in order to bring in developments in the tourism industry.

The planning process will be undertaken through the evaluation of the different issues that might be faced by the tourism industry while operating in the international markets. The different steps of the planning process are:

1. Evaluation of the issues
2. Searching for alternatives
3. Deciding on an alternative
4. Communication of the decision to the stakeholders

• How will it be done?

The plans will be executed through the communication of the objective and the relevant steps with the major stakeholders. It will be helping the agency in maintaining the efficacy of the functions after idealizing and deciding on a particular alternative.

• Who will be consulted?

The consultation with the key stakeholders will be helping the agency in maintaining the efficiency of the function as per the plan. The agency will be contacting the environment protection departments, the government agencies and the other relative stakeholders to make them aware of their plan of sustainable tourism and thereby maintain the efficacy of the processes planned by the business.  

• How will the plan/policy be implemented?

The plan will be implemented through a thorough consultation with the different stakeholders of the business. The different policies that are formed by the business will be  helping to guide the pathway to the implementation process that is planned by the business.

• How will it be reviewed?

The plan will be reviewed through continuous monitoring systems, which will be helping the agency in maintaining the efficacy of the plans that are formulated in order to safeguard their interest of holding sustainable tourism.

References 

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