National LandscapesA partnership between conservation and tourism

National LandscapesA partnership between conservation and tourism

Australia’s Red Centre

Stunning ancient mountain ranges, rich indigenous culture and world famous for its distinctive art, Australia’s Red Centre’s timeless rugged multicolour vistas thrills, enriches and inspires.

Australia’s Red Centre is the heart of Australia. It’s a land of arid beauty, endless plains and monuments of nature – World Heritage Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the McDonnell Ranges and Kings Canyon.

Visitors can learn about and experience Aboriginal culture, meet colourful outback characters, visit a local pub, go camel riding, sleep

under the stars in a swag, cook dinner over the campfire, swim in secluded waterways and learn about the unique flora and fauna.

Kakadu

Kakadu National Park is one of the great World Heritage areas, recognised universally as a place with a living Aboriginal culture (home to Bininj and Mungguy people), and features extraordinary natural landscapes such as Jim Jim Falls, as well as a rich variety of plants and animals.

BACKGROUND

THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPES PROGRAM IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND TOURISM. THE PROGRAM CAPTURES AND PROMOTES THE BEST OF AUSTRALIA TO ACHIEVE CONSERVATION, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES FOR THE COUNTRY AND ITS REGIONS.

Australia has one of the world’s most distinct and rich environments. It is also home to the world’s oldest living culture. Australians have a lifestyle that is admired the world over.

It is these compelling assets that make Australia a highly desired visitor destination – one that we must interpret, visit and conserve.

THE PROGRAM

Tourism Australia and Parks Australia have formed a partnership to identify landscapes which capture the essence of Australia and offer distinctive, natural and cultural experiences. Their aim is to brand and market these areas according to the unique experience each one offers to the global audience known as Experience Seekers – the target market of Australia’s tourism marketing organisation, Tourism Australia.

The National Landscapes Program is designed to identify the best of Australia’s natural and cultural landscapes – inspirational destinations that transcend borders and boundaries. In doing so, the program identifies the very best of Australia for the Experience Seeker who wants to get off the beaten track and immerse themselves in local culture.

A National Landscape goes beyond individual National Parks or iconic visitor attractions. The program transcends municipal and State boundaries. National Landscapes are united by their topography, and their environmental or cultural significance. This approach encourages greater collaboration between the parties that govern, preserve and promote these landscapes.

Essential to the success of this program is the long-term planning that brings together the National Landscapes Reference Committee to deliver both conservation and tourism outcomes. The National Landscapes Reference Committee includes government agencies such as Tourism Australia, Parks Australia, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, as well as representatives from key Australian tourism, ecotourism, academic and conservation sectors.

Each landscape must meet certain criteria for selection. These include a commitment to:

> Protecting Australia’s distinctive natural and cultural assets for our future.

> Aligning to Brand Australia and National Landscape values

> Sustainability.

> Ongoing leadership and management.

> Co-operative regional planning and appropriate infrastructure.

> Building and sharing knowledge.

In identifying Australia’s quintessential National Landscapes, the aim is to encourage regional planning, including the appropriate provision of access and infrastructure in balance with natural and cultural conservation outcomes. The program also aims to enhance the value of tourism to the regional economy and the role of protected areas in that economy.

AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL LANDSCAPES

The National Landscapes program was launched in December 2006 with the announcement of Australia’s Red Centre as Australia’s first National Landscape. In June 2008 seven subsequent landscapes were named at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) - Australia’s premier tourism trade event.

In 2009, Kangaroo Island joined the National Landscapes program.

Listed below are Australia’s first nine National Landscapes.

Kakadu has the highest concentration of Aboriginal art sites in the world. This living cultural landscape is an example of the successful partnership between traditional owners, governments and the tourism industry, providing a national benchmark in caring for country and sustainable tourism.

Flinders Ranges

The rugged majesty of the Flinders Ranges reveals the story of life on earth in an ancient landscape.

The tranquil gorges, gum-clad creeks and vast night skies sustain the spirit of seekers after inner peace. Sheep and cattle stations, farms, national parks, trails and small towns offer the chance to explore their enormous variety and meet local people. This is a place for hikers, mountain bikers, 4WD drivers, 2WD drivers and anyone who wants to cameleer, horseride or view a great landscape from a small plane.

Wilpena Pound is the Ranges’ great landmark. But there are many Ranges –from the ABC and Arkaba to Heysen and Gammon-Vulkathunha. What they all share is the Magic Hour when the late afternoon light bathes the ramparts and slopes in colour- a time beloved of artists and photographers.

Australian Alps

The challenge of this spectacular Alpine landscape is in its unexpected contrasts, both physical and spiritual, which are embodied in its people and their living stories.

Stretching from Canberra through the Brindabella Range to the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and along the Great Divide through eastern Victoria, Australia’s alpine and subalpine environments are

unique and special. Encompassing broad mountain plateaus, rolling ridges and steep valleys, glacial lakes, clear mountain springs and waterfalls, the Australian Alps is best explored on foot or by 4WD.

The Australian Alps has a rich and diverse Aboriginal and European cultural heritage, and magnificent outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities. The Australian Alps contain the head waters of some of Australia’s most important rivers.

Great Ocean Road

A journey along the spectacular Great Ocean Road, where nature’s drama unfolds at every turn, leaves visitors feeling relaxed and refreshed. Breathtaking scenery provides invigorating moments that dispel everyday concerns.

The Great Ocean Road stretches from Geelong to Portland. It is a place of infinite diversity, taking in exquisite coastal scenery, mountains and farmland, thriving country towns, rainforests and historic relics. Highlights along Australia’s natural stretch of therapy includes the Twelve Apostles, pristine beaches, historic towns, Otways, shipwrecks, waterfalls, lighthouses and wildlife.

The region offers many opportunities for visitors to learn about the local Aboriginal people and their communities. Tower Hill, near Warrnambool, is a site of significance for the Gunditjmara people.

Australia’s Green Cauldron

Australia’s Green Cauldron encompasses the ancient crater of the world’s second largest shield volcano.

Stretching from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast and west towards the Great Dividing Range, this vast caldera shelters a huge diversity of

rare flora and fauna, and subtropical rainforests, all framed by a breathtaking semi-circle of mountain ranges.

World Heritage-listed Mount Warning has special meaning for Indigenous communities. It was used for initiation ceremonies and spiritual education, and retains its cultural significance.

Activities in the area include bushwalking and touring in the region’s splendid rainforest areas, diving or snorkelling with abundant marine life where the caldera meets the coast or discovering the region’s alternative communities.

Australia’s Coastal Wilderness

A rare and relatively untouched region with an unspoilt wilderness coastlines, pristine lakes and tall forests, Australia’s Coastal Wilderness provides authentic year-round experiences relating to landscapes, natural history and living Indigenous culture.

The region’s Croajingolong National Park is listed by UNESCO as a World Biosphere. Other highlights include the remarkable folded coloured rock at Quarry Beach, and historic lighthouses at Point Hicks, Gabo Island and Green Cape.

Australia’s Coastal Wilderness encompasses stunning coastal and wilderness walks, rich with diverse flora and fauna. The region is easy to access and studded with uniquely Australian communities.

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third largest island. Located 15kms from South Australia’s mainland the area features one national park, twenty-one conservation parks, one conservation reserve, and five

wilderness protection areas. Native animals abound in pristine natural settings. See Australian Sea Lions playing at Seal Bay and penguins in Penneshaw or Kingscote. Visit historic lighthouses and Admirals Arch and Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park. Hike Hanson Bay or go caving in Kelly Hill Conservation Park. Swim with dolphins and dive or snorkel from the island’s northern beaches. From Stokes Bay to Vivonne Bay, the island’s beaches are inviting to swim, surf, fish and dive wrecks.

Greater Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains World Heritage Area is Australia’s most accessible wilderness, stretching over one million hectares. The Blue Mountains is an inspiring and diverse mix of rainforest, canyons, tall forests and heathlands.

The Greater Blue Mountains is a place of extraordinary wild beauty, where the blue haze of World Heritage listed eucalypts is splashed across golden sandstone It is an ancient land of 350 million year old cave systems, serpentine slot canyons and the prehistoric Wollemi Pine. Traditional Country of six Aboriginal language groups and Australia’s cradle of conservation and bushwalking, this accessible wilderness is on Sydney’s doorstep, but it feels a world away.

OUTCOMES FOR TOURISM OPERATORS

Operators in National Landscapes are likely to attract high-yield Experience Seekers - visitors who stay longer and travel more widely than other visitors.

Tourism operators working in National Landscapes will have access to: A unified, high profile brand from which marketing programs can be easily developed.

> A common marketing platform that all tourism operators in the National Landscape can use cooperatively.

> Toolkits to support marketing activities.

> Worldwide promotion through cooperative PR, media and digital activity targeting Experience Seekers.

MORE INFORMATION

More information on the National Landscapes program can be obtained by visiting www.tourism.australia.com/nl

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