|
by Gary Prosser
Tourism is now one of Australia's largest foreign exchange
earners, generating $8 billion or 11% of total export earnings
in 1992, and is a major source of economic and employment
growth.
The Orient Café in Byron Bay
- café, restaurant and guest house. Tourism is a
majeur contributor to employment for the locals.
The Bureau of Tourism Research estimates tourism contributed
5.5% to Gross Domestic Product and employed around 457,700
people in 1991-92. These positive economic and employment
effects are promoted as benefiting local and regional economies,
as well as the national economy.
The social and environmental issues
surrounding tourism development dominate debate in local
communities...
 Yet
surprisingly little evidence is available on the impact of
tourism at the local level. Political and media interest in
the economic consequences of tourism activity is rarely matched
by a concern with tourism's social and environmental implications.
Yet it is often the social and environmental issues surrounding
tourism development that dominate debate in local communities.
There is increasing recognition by both the tourism industry
and policy makers that the potential economic benefits of
tourist activity will not be realised unless the social and
environmental consequences are managed in a way that is consistent
with local community values.
Do destination areas carry with
them the potential seeds of their own destruction?...
A framework is needed for understanding and evaluating the
socio-economic influences on, and consequences of, tourism
development. In order to work towards this goal, our research
problem may be summarised as: What factors influence the nature
and extent of change in the social and economic characteristics
of tourist destination areas as levels of tourist activity
increase?
This problem is central to issues confronting the future
of Byron Bay and other local communities in locations on Australia's
eastern seaboard (and else-where in Australia, and internationally).
What are the factors
which determine whether a location will be subject to tourism
urbanisation?
Do destination areas carry with them the potential seeds
of their own destruction, inevitably losing the qualities
which originally attracted tourists? Is the process of tourism
urbanisation experienced by the Gold Coast an inevitable consequence
of tourist resort development? If so, is there a consistent
pattern of change, and are there opportunities to intervene
and influence the process? If not, what are the factors which
determine whether a location will be subject to tourism urbanisation?
The significance of these questions extends beyond the immediate
interests of those living in coastal resort areas.
Previous research is not relevant
at the local level, particularly in a place as special as
Byron Bay...
It has implications for our understanding of the role of
leisure and tourism in society, and hence may contribute to
a more complete understanding of contemporary social and economic
life. The extent to which social and economic change in tourist
destinations can be explained as an outcome of global processes
as opposed to local factors is a key issue.
Ameliorating the
negative impacts of tourism development for local communities...
We are working towards a conceptual framework for describing
and understanding the process of change in tourist destinations
which can improve planning models and strategies for enhancing
the benefits of tourism and ameliorating the negative impacts
of tourism development for local communities.
My interest in the research stems from my personal and professional
involvement in Byron Bay - as a ratepayer and Chair of the
Regional Tourism Organisation. While there has been extensive
research done on the social and economic impacts of tourism,
most previous research is not relevant at the local level,
particularly in a place as special as Byron Bay.
Gary Prosser,
Associate Professor and
Head of Centre for Tourism,
Southern Cross University , Lismore.
|
