Project Leader and Host
Organisation
Professor Bruce Prideaux, James Cook University
Project Description and Objectives
For detailed descriptions of the outputs for
this project for Year 4 (2009/2010) of the MTSRF Research
Programme, see the Annual Research
Plan.
This project will develop an improved understanding of the
perceptions and motivations of the tourists and local community who
use the Wet Tropics rainforests, allow identification of major
drivers and trends in visitation, report on tour operator
accreditation, development of a visitor barometer, report on
benchmarking of tourism patterns and development of tools to
determine visitor sustainability. Understanding trends and drivers
will enable WTMA and the tourism industry to develop
internationally competitive visitor experiences and enable WTMA to
develop more effective visitor management policies. A Rapid
Assessment Capability built into the visitor survey will allow
stakeholders to understand the implications of unexpected events
and assist in allowing them to respond to such events in an
informed and effective manner.
The major outputs of the second component will enable WMTA to:
understand visitor behaviour at site level, identify changes in
community perceptions towards the wet tropics and understand
commercial tour operators concerns and perceptions. This
information will enable more effective management at site level,
provide information that will assist in selection of alternative
sites and better understand changes in community perceptions. The
task will provide commercial tour operators with data on the
sustainability of various attractions.
Key objectives of this project are to:
