Celebrating Queensland’s existing Indigenous experiences, and the commitment to further increase and support Indigenous participation in the tourism industry, this year is the Year of Indigenous Tourism.
With visitors continually seeking real, authentic experiences, there is more demand than ever from consumers to have the opportunity to connect with Australia’s First Nations peoples and learn first-hand about the oldest living culture in the world.
A growing part of the tourism industry, prior to the pandemic Indigenous tourism accounted for $505 million in visitor spending across the state annually, with over 400,000 people taking part in these incredible experiences every year.
Over the last decade, the Queensland tourism industry and its bodies, alongside First Nations tourism champions, and key Government departments have been taking significant steps to build a strong and resilient Indigenous tourism sector in our state.
The Bundaberg region and surrounds has a rich Indigenous culture with many stories to be told, and we
With an increase in demand from visitors, as well as interest in learning about culture, this provides the opportunity for our local Indigenous tourism operators to grow, and become market-ready, where visitors from across Australia (and the globe when international travel resumes) can take part in authentic, local Indigenous experiences.
Bundaberg Tourism, with the support of State Government funding through Tourism & Events Queensland, are working with two local cultural tourism experiences currently, and are always happy to hear from more established businesses operating in the tourism and visitor experience space. It is so important to me personally and for the team at Bundaberg Tourism to recognise the thousands of generations of continuous culture that have shaped this country and the people on it, and we endeavour to continually support the development of authentic and inclusive indigenous tourism opportunities to share culture respectfully.
Yours in tourism,
Katherine Reid, CEO
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