Tasmania’s peak tourism industry organisation today released its submission to the Draft Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Plan 2014.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO, Luke Martin, said the industry’s submission was based on feedback from tourism operators working directly within the TWWHA along with tourism operators from across the State who value and leverage Tasmania’s wilderness brand, and has been endorsed by TICT’s 23-member representative industry council.

“The Tasmanian tourism industry strongly endorses the approach adopted by the Tasmanian Government in further opening the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area to the innovation and investment of commercial tourism,’ Mr Martin said.

“We strongly welcome the long overdue recognition of the outstanding cultural values of the TWWHA, and the exciting opportunity for Tasmania to share its Aboriginal heritage and stories with visitors from across the globe.”

“As a tourism industry, we are acutely aware of the shared custodianship many Tasmanians have for our World Heritage Areas and the apprehension some members of the community feel towards the proposal for further commercial tourism activity within these areas.

“We believe sensitive and low impact tourism can only make a positive contribution to these areas through the income it generates to support management and conservation outcomes, while providing the opportunity for more people to experience and appreciate the extraordinary natural and cultural values of these places.

Mr Martin said the Council’s submission on the draft management plan contains constructive suggestions for the Government to consider in the final management plan to enhance safeguards for existing tourism operators and conservationists concerned about the broad provisions within the current draft, including;

• Development of world’s best practice design guidelines for visitor accommodation and other facilities within the TWWHA, factoring in size and/or scale, building material, sustainable operations and contribution to site management;
• Mandatory tourism accreditation for all tourism operators seeking a license and/or lease to operate within the TWWHA
• No additional public roads constructed within the TWWHA or to facilitate any accommodation facilities
• Limiting forest extraction to provisions allowed within the current management plan
• Prohibiting mining activity from within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Mr Martin said TICT was also asking to reconsider the decision to remove the term ‘wilderness’ from the name of the current ‘Wilderness Zone’.

“We respect the Government’s rationale for changing the name of the zone and the ambiguity of the term ‘wilderness’ in reflecting the considerable human activity occurring within this landscape, however, the debate this has sparked has the potential to denigrate the critical brand of the TWWHA and from our perspective we think a compromise should be reached.”

TICT submission can be downloaded here
http://www.tict.com.au/_literature_188748/TICT_submission_on_the_Draft_Tasmanian_Wilderness_World_Heritage_Area_Management_Plan_2014

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=266JhZdrQGg
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO, Luke Martin