"We speak for country": Indigenous tourism development options for community engagement in Australia

Abstract

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Indigenous communities around the world are becoming involved in tourism development to gain the social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits that the sector can offer. However, limitations in accessing resources, funding, support and skill-training may reduce many of the possible benefits of tourism development. These limitations may lead Indigenous communities to either not engage in tourism development or engage in options that may not best suit Indigenous people. The lack of suitable engagement options with Indigenous communities can lead to issues such as: commodification of culture; inauthenticity of cultural representation; loss of Indigenous knowledge, heritage and values; as well as the continuous deficit of social benefits, such as education and skill-training. This study aims to examine how alternative, digital options for engagement in, and control over, tourism development may mitigate these limitations and issues for Indigenous peoples and communities, while increasing the benefits of tourism development. The research for this study was conducted with the Wagiman community of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, who possess distinct representations of culture, identity and knowledge of country, as well as a broad range of data resources, including: collections of placenames; geographic data; ethnobiology data; interviews; and access to already established tourism infrastructures. These data resources support the evaluation of digital mapping and marketing of Wagiman knowledge through Google maps, websites and mobile apps as well as the feasibility of Indigenous tourism development, the conservation of local heritage, and potentially positive social benefits and political influence for the long term. The objective of this research is to determine: 1.) The options for engaging with the Wagiman participants in ways that benefit and empower the wider Wagiman and Pine Creek communities. 2.) Whether the Wagiman people of Pine Creek wish to engage in tourism development, and if so, what the options for engagement might be. 3.) Whether digital options for engagement in tourism development are viable for the authentic sharing, conservation and promotion of Wagiman heritage to tourists, younger generations of Wagiman people as well as the wider Pine Creek community. 4.) If tourists visiting Pine Creek are interested in local and Aboriginal tourism attractions and/or would access Wagiman knowledge on digital platforms while travelling. 5.) How should digital tourism and heritage products be managed to advance longer-term sustainability. This study finds that adopting Wagiman methodologies of research, such as oral knowledge-sharing on-site in Wagiman country, as well as through digital interpretation off-site, may help promote and conserve Wagiman, and wider community, heritage in Pine Creek. Digital options of Wagiman engagement in tourism may: 1.) foster local pride and empowerment by providing access to tourism and heritage resources, education and skill-training in research and development 2.) create stronger bonds of trust and friendship with outside researchers while conducting Wagiman-led research on-site and on-line 3.) promote awareness and authentic Wagiman heritage to tourists and locals 4.) diversify local tourism developments and 5.) create an integrated Wagiman and non-Indigenous co-management system for maintaining digital tourism products and heritage promotion for the long-term. The findings of this study suggest that adopting Indigenous methodologies may help engage Indigenous people and communities in leading research and development through culturally appropriate options thus decolonising tourism research and development while promoting trust between researchers and communities for long-term heritage conservation and social empowerment. This research is partly funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant that focuses more broadly on providing practical, digital outputs for archiving spatial, biocultural knowledge of Aboriginal communities in Australia.