A Reflective Journal
The course is very interesting and exciting in the sense that it starts with acknowledging the reliable traditional custodians and owners of the land on which the whole tourism business is done. The introduction further brings to the fore the fact that in case one is studying the same course in Adelaide, the main people to be acknowledged as the owners of the land are called the Kaurna. We are told of how they have taken care of the Australian land and made it possible for all of tourists and other citizens to enjoy its beauty and other marvelous sites. From the introduction we are also notified that in case one is studying this course externally while in Australia, it’s necessary to acknowledge the Aborigines as the traditional owners of the country where which they live and study.
For those who are outside Australia and wonder whether there are any custodians of the Australian land who should be acknowledged, they are advised to pay homage to the kaurna people and thus respect the custom that these people have developed and are recognized by all Australians. I find the course very engaging in many ways. Topic 5: Management issues in Atsi tourism. Management, for some long time, has been one of the biggest problems in Australian tourism .The course captures this aspect in a very insightful way.
The course, in my opinion, is quite interesting because it reflects on how the Indigenous Australians managed to request the authorities concerned with the tourism to incorporate a message of welcoming visitors and tourists. In the first lecture, we are introduced to how important tourism is and a lot of attention is brought to the fact that individuals should acknowledge the traditional owners of the land as a sign of paying homage to the indigenous people of Australia. The course gives a very insightful approach to learning about tourism and the land of Australia by incorporating the South Australia Strategic Tourism Plan for the year 2003 to 2008 in which the very first page is dedicated to acknowledging the Aborigines of Southern Australian as major stakeholders and traditional owners of Australia’s land. The course is well organized in the sense that from the introduction we are introduced to what it is all about; the definition of some of the main terms and concepts is also brought to our attention. Topic 6: Issues in marketing Atsi tourism.
This topic basically highlights the importance of the Indigenous Australians when it comes to the marketing of the country to international visitors and tourists. A few decades ago Indigenous Australian people have ventured in tourism hoping that they can make something worthwhile out of it. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism Industry Strategy authored in 1999 which was discussed in topic eight of this course helped in establishing a national framework that was used to organize Indigenous tourism for the sake of meeting the needs of different unique stakeholders. This topic basically provides some sort of an introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) tourism and a short contextualization to hlp in greater understanding. According to Australia Bureau of Tourism Research (1990), Indigenous tourism is considered to be a phenomenon that most people all over the world, seem to be fascinated about. Most people visit far flung places with the desire to experience adventures.
Marketing tourism is one of the biggest problems to the authorities. Some of the world travel destinations may include any place that is believed to have some amusing sceneries like America, Australia, the Pacific, Asia and Africa. We have a number of catalysts that help to spark the high demand for the experiences that come with Indigenous tourism. Many perceive it to be simply a reaction against what many think is homogenization or uniformity occasioned by the strong forces of globalization. Another factor that may be used to explain this whole concept of tourism is that human beings have always had some inexplicable interest in experiencing lifestyles that are in contrast to what is considered modern or urban.
Some tourists are simply seeking that awesome experience that comes with Indigenous tourism or simply the entertainment which most feel is appropriate for their different circumstances. Some always engage in the exploitation of Indigenous tourism in an accidental or incidental way, while others mainly comprise a small market which is keen on the Indigenous experiences as away of relieving stress. BrandingThis basic ally entail how the whole concept of tourism is packaged .The whole tourism industry greatly benefits from promoting Indigenous tourism in many ways. Firstly, countries or nations which contain Indigenous populations that are clearly identified can actually use their uniqueness; as far as culture is concerned as a tool for branding their various destinations as distinct in the very competitive international tourism market. According to Tellefson, J.
,a good example is the Maori which became a sort of iconographiy for New Zealand, and then we had the Sami which became a very captivating marketing tool for tourism in Finland. In the same light, Indigenous Australians have become the marketing image of Australia just the same way the San evoke helps to market Botswana. The Aboriginality aspect of activities that Australians do and the whole Aboriginal culture are seen as a marketing tool for Australia internationally. The government plays a big role in ensuring that tourism brings the country revenue. In some cases the government has come under fire due to their alleged biased involvement like some of the unpopular policies that they implement.
Due to historical legacies, most of the Indigenous people in Australia are frequently faced with underdevelopment; this is riddled with, high morbidity, bad health and ignorance. The main historical legacies in most cases comprise being displaced or forceful removal of people from their ancestral lands for the sake of some economic opportunity which in most cases are marginal. Another one is, the looking down upon traditional economies and ways of life which the people previously depended on for their livelihood, some socio-cultural practices like institutionalization of groups of peeople by use of discriminatory policies and domination by central government authorities in their attempts to control people for instance the mission system by the Australian authorities. This has actually resulted in the dependence of most Indigenous communities to heavily dependent on the support of government for basic survival. Topic 9: Conflict in Indigenous Tourism and Issues in Control of Indigenous Tourism. This topic is one of the most controversial of them all .
This I because the indigenous people initially dint know that they were being taken for a ride and soon as they knew that they can actually greatly benefit from tourism, they became very aggressive and demanded what was rightfully theirs. Indigenous peoples are turning to the whole idea of tourism due to various reasons. Initially many thought that the original experience of tourism to most Indigenous communities was due to colonial subjugation and thus was a negative start but at the moment most of the indigenous people perceive the idea of Indigenous tourism as a good path which they use for securing the economic future for their communities.According to Bramwell, B. and Lane, B.
(2000),Indigenous tourism in Australia has been made to be a win-win situation to all the stakeholders concerned with Indigenous tourism. Tourists and visitors get an awesome and satisfying experience of one of the world‘s oldest culture. The tourism industry uses its popularity when branding .They bank on the fact that most of their tourist’s destinations are distinct and, therefore, attract visitors from across the globe. The Indigenous communities, on the other hand, use tourism‘s power and capacities for generating income and gaining employment.In the introduction of this topic we are made to understand some of the main conflicts and other control issues of Indigenous tourism.
We are also taught about the rights of the indigenous people .These are just but a few aspects of the course that make me believe that indeed it is a very interesting one, the necessity of distinguishing the different types of demands of the various stakeholders in this Indigenous tourism is also explained. The course instructor makes it very engaging when he exposes to light ,the fact that most visitors and tourists always seek some special encounter by experiencing the services of Australian tourism. He further explains how the tourism industry is seeking marketing advantages through fronting the Indigenous theme. I find the course and particularly this topic appealing in the sense that through it we get to know more about government, for instance how they seek ways of ensuring development among the Indigenous community for the sake of ensuring that government spends less on welfare.
Members of the Indigenous communities are also presented to us as people who are thinking out of the box to ensure that they have enough control which helps them to secure some beneficial outcomes that are enjoyed by their communities. This second topic, in many ways, provides an insightful overview to some of the catalysts of Indigenous tourism and some of the outcomes that their activities lead to.
