Central Land Council

Rose Report Two

Tourism

Introduction

Central Australia is a major focus for tourism in Australia and in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in visitor numbers. At the same time market research shows that the expectations of tourists are increasingly focused on Aboriginal interaction as images of Aboriginal culture permeate tourism advertising and promotion.

The result is that "a significant and growing proportion of international and domestic tourists are seeking what can be described as alternative or cultural tourism, as a major component of their holiday." While tourism in central Australia grows, Aboriginal people are affected both directly and indirectly. Direct involvement occurs through a range of roles associated with enterprises which cater to the tourist market. An example is cultural interpretive tours where Aboriginal people interpret the features of the landscape and demonstrate the collection of bush food.

Indirect involvement in tourism includes, for example, the manufacture of artefacts for sale to tourists from outlets ranging from community stores to specialist shops in hotel chains. Tourism indirectly affects Aboriginal people in a number of ways such as through the simplification and misrepresentation of Aboriginal culture in tourism advertising to the use of restricted Aboriginal images in inappropriate contexts. Despite the high profile of Aboriginal culture in tourism promotion, the level of involvement of Aboriginal people in the development of the tourism industry and in the development of tourism policy is problematic.

Aboriginal people who hold their land under Aboriginal freehold title have a measure of control over tourist activity because all tourists must obtain permission before entering on this land. For communities on land held under lesser forms of title there is little or no control over who can enter onto that land and the nature of any development which may take place there. There is therefore considerable room for conflict arising out of tourism as a land use when it is appreciated that almost all current tourist destinations in central Australia are registered sacred sites.

Overview of Aboriginal attitudes to tourism

In central Australia Aboriginal attitudes to tourism have not generally been considered in the development of the tourism industry and in fact remain largely unknown. The unique situation at Uluru National Park, which is held as freehold Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976 but leased to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, has provided the first opportunity for Aboriginal people to articulate their attitudes to tourism and tourism development. A 1991 report on the impact of tourism at Uluru National Park concluded that; "In general, Anangu accept tourism and are interested in some of the benefits it provides. However, this support is qualified… Specific tourist activities cause concern amongst Anangu (photography, falling off the Rock, going to sacred areas) but some activities are now controlled. Suspicion about tourism in general remains.

Anangu wish to retain a certain distance from tourism, with selective involvement. (ANPWS, 1991). A point clearly made in this report is that unlike the reaction to tourism indicated in most of the literature (which suggests a passive and somewhat uniform reaction from the host culture) Anangu have reacted in complex and diverse ways to tourism. While the research into tourism undertaken for the present report is not as detailed as that which formed the basis of the report from Uluru National Park, the present study shows that in many other areas of the Northern Territory Aboriginal people have very similar attitudes to those recorded at Uluru.

Most of the Aboriginal respondents during the research were happy to admit tourists to their country and often provided positive suggestions as to the things they could do and see. Aboriginal people are very proud of their country and the resources it can provide and are often keen to share this information with tourists. These offers were generally made with the provision that tourists be restricted from certain areas.

Sacred site protection was generally seen as the most important consideration in allowing tourist access to their country.

Tourists have to be kept under control, away from sacred sites. There was also concern from many people for the safety of tourists when travelling through country. It was understood that tourists wanted to come through but they must take care in dangerous areas such as disused mines and in travelling in remote areas. Aboriginal people feel responsible for the well being of those who travel across their country. If there is an accident on country traditional owners would be likely to feel some level of responsibility. A few respondents suggested that tourists only wanted to come and make fun of Aboriginal people. To take photos and then go away and talk about Aboriginal culture in the wrong way. Some people are shamed by the living conditions of their communities, which persist despite their efforts to access resources and support to improve their situation, and feel that tourists would gain a negative impression of their community. Some younger people spoke about how the community elders, who make decisions about tourists coming onto country, had become more moderate in recent times.

In earlier times elders took a much harder line saying that tourists should not be allowed to come, regardless of the actual level of control Aboriginal people then had over trespass on their country. Today, it seems, people with more sympathetic attitudes to tourism are taking the key decision making roles in the community. In many outstation communities tourism was seen as less desirable. Outstations often exist because they are close to traditional country and provide shelter from the cramped and sometimes troubled environment in larger communities.

Outstations are often places where Aboriginal people seek privacy, rather than encoure outside contact. Tourism is seen as something of a threat to this lifestyle. People may be happy for tourists to come into many larger community centres but access to outstations is less likely to be supported. Another aspect of tourism is the improvement of roads for access. Most Aboriginal people were keen to have access to their country improved because they can then use these roads themselves to visit country and to carry out business there.

Aboriginal attitudes to mining (see chapter nine) are similarly affected by the improvements to access which accompany mining exploration and development. However, it is important for Aboriginal people that development does not infringe upon sacred sites or transgress other laws about travelling across country. Some groups are keen to see tourist development go ahead for the economic and employment prospects it can provide. Several groups of people situated along major tourist routes suggested that they wanted to set up stores and service centres to provide services to travellers. Many also wanted to provide tourists with access to cultural information to show them historical features on the lands and to explain some of the more public elements of Aboriginal Law.

Overall the development of tourism enterprises was seen as an attractive option by only a small number of communities. The majority of respondents showed a more passive acceptance of tourism on their country. From those groups already involved with tourism ventures there was criticism of the level of support and training they had received to help them keep the venture going. The people involved with these ventures were just coming to realise the amount of work required to keep them going and to service tourists at call. It was not clear to what extent those groups who expressed interest in setting up similar ventures were aware of these factors.

Aboriginal acceptance of tourism

The level of enthusiasm for tourist activity varied from a strong desire to bring tourists out to show them the country and the culture to a desire to be distanced from the day to day interests of visitors. There were few people who said they did not accept tourism per se, and these were often people resident on outstation communities. The responses given to discussions about tourism in the Alyawarr region indicated that tourism was not an issue of concern in the area. There was passive acceptance that it was all right for tourists to travel through their country. The region is traversed by several routes which carry a significant amount of tourist traffic.

The Barkly, Plenty and Sandover Highways all provide direct routes between the major tourist centres of central Australia and Queensland. Some people suggested that they had to keep an eye on tourists who might leave the main roads and wander into the wrong areas but this was not a widespread concern. The Arrernte people (whose country includes the Alice Springs region) have had a relatively high level of contact with tourists in comparison to more remote regions. The indirect impacts of tourism, such as the growth of Alice Springs itself as a service centre and increasing pressure to visit local sights, have been high. In response to increased contact with tourists, Arrernte people provided a diverse range of responses and were prepared to give their opinions about the implications of tourism or the opportunities that tourism might present.

Even among small groups conflicting opinions about tourists were expressed. It was clear from these responses that perceptions of tourists vary widely between age groups and for people with different interests. In an interview with one family group the following diverse responses were recorded: "Tourists come out to see the country." "They always take photos, they don't bring money for communities." "Paintings okay – they always buy em." "Tourists come, more and more in cool times." "Better if they don't come." "Tourism, its a good way to go." "Sometimes tourists get cheeky – no permits." "There should be more tourism on Aboriginal land." In many communities there is a similar array of contrasting or conflicting messages about tourism.

At Areyonga there was an ideal opportunity to discuss tourists as several carloads arrived at the community during the interview. People were generally dismissive of the interruptions these tourists might present and ignored them. There was apparently little concern that tourists coming into the community were invading privacy. In Areyonga as in other areas people expressed some concern for the safety of tourists who may venture on to their country. "Those tourists are okay if they come into the community but they shouldn't go out to that mine because it is dangerous." In other areas the concern for safety was felt because tourists would not know the right way to travel across the country, according to Aboriginal Law.

Under Aboriginal Law there are certain activities and observances regarding restricted places and sites of which non-Aboriginals are ignorant. If the proper rules are not followed there is danger of upsetting the spirits of the land. In this respect tourists were often likened to children – they had to be looked after or they might do the wrong thing. In other regions tourism was accepted but there was a suggestion that tourists should pay for the disturbance they cause.

At Nyirrpi for example people were accepting of the idea that tourists might want to come into their country to look around but they expressed the desire that there should be something in return for allowing them to do this. "If they take a photo of old people they got to pay for it." In many areas there are Aboriginal people who are particularly skilled at working with tourists. Such people, who are prepared to accompany visitors on to their country to act as guides, are often in demand. Some of the people spoken to during this research had been in this position. Their work of acting as cultural mediators includes such activities as assisting government departments with their work on Aboriginal land, helping them to find the right people to talk to and to find their way around the country.

Some people felt there was little difference between working with tourists and working with government employees or other visitors to the lands. A point made by many respondents is that whatever the role being played by an Aboriginal "guide" there remain many rules of ownership and responsibility which must be adhered to in the provision of information or accessing different parts of the country. For example one respondent said that he could not take tourists around the country he was on at the time because he did not have the right, and he could not say if tourism was acceptable on this country for the same reason. On his own country, however, he could make these decisions.

"Well I can't say anything for this country now, for tourists I got to let that mob at Kalkarindji or Dagaragu mob they have to say what they want for that one around here. Me, I go out with those tourists sometime, my country, they pay me to show them around the country. This month they been coming again. I show them all about bush medicine. They pay me for that one, three trip I've been take him. I used to take them from Darwin mob, one fella. Other place they sell them painting or spear or something like that, well we sell them too, but I got no idea for that." Proud to show country Aboriginal people are keen to show off their country because they say it is extremely important to them and can provide everything they need. Although there are some areas where tourists are not permitted the majority of the land is without such restrictions and there is a great deal of pride involved in showing people "your country".

In many places discussions about tourism led people to talk about the good places on their country for tourists to visit. Some of these suggestions are related to tentative proposals to set up tourist ventures by an individual or group in the community. For example at Papunya there was a positive response to questions about tourism with a number of sites identified as "good places for tourists". A number of people were identified as being interested in establishing tourist ventures and were planning some sort of tourist campsite nearby.

Outstations as refuges

At some outstation communities tourists were seen as something of an intrusion. These outstations saw themselves as private living space, something of a retreat from larger communities and the social problems they represent. Having tourists was not seen as compatible with the lifestyle sought. This view was held at Kintore community near the Western Australian border. Respondents said that it was important that tourists are kept out of certain areas around the community. Tourists were seen as a nuisance, coming into the community and behaving ignorantly.

Providing tourists with a designated place to camp was suggested as the best way of keeping them in the right place. "We get lots of tourists sometimes, come to take photos of the rocks and hills. We are thinking about putting in rubbish bin and camping area so they have somewhere to go. Some of the places around here are not for whitefellas to see so they must be kept in the places that are okay." The outstations around Kintore were not seen as a good place for tourists to go. Similarly at Pulardi Bore involvement with tourists is not desired. "We don't like them coming round". The outstation wants to start up a little shop for themselves but have no intention of catering for tourists. "We aren't on the main road and would be out of the way for tourists to come here. We just want to sit down quiet here without any problems."

The need for control

A regional tourism impact study of the Petermann and Katiti Land Trust area suggested that in the Docker River region people take unauthorised entry onto their lands very seriously. The Aboriginal people were concerned about unauthorised access to a number of men's and women's sites in the area. Irrespective of the level of support for tourism Aboriginal people were unanimous stressing the importance of controlling tourists.

The level of control desired varies with different regions. Some people said that they were happy with the control they had over tourists through the permit process administered by the Land Council. Others were concerned that this process was not stopping unwanted visitors from coming on to the country. At Utopia for example respondents at the Ankerrapw (Utopia homestead) felt very strongly about tourists. "You've got to keep tourists under control, they have to be kept away from Aboriginal sacred sites. They're very important for Aboriginal people, they aren't a thing of the past they still live in the land and people take their strength and their proper place from them." Tourists were placed together with mining prospectors as serious nuisances which continued to occur despite the permit process.

Several communities indicated that they had changed their attitudes to tourists over recent years. "Old time people used to be hard, these tourists can't come in, now it is more easy, okay if they come in and talk to people." But once again the need for control was stressed. "We are worried for sacred sites, when making road or if tourists want to go in there and take photo." At Yuendumu there was a similar reaction. People said that tourists shouldn't go and take photos of the old people's camps. Tourists were seen as ignorant of the important things for Aboriginal people and they had to be guided so as not to make silly mistakes if they visited the country. The analogy was provided once again, that tourists were like children whose transgressions of the Law might be tolerated because they were immature, but it is preferable if these transgressions did not occur. Perceived benefits of tourism Enterprise and employment

A number of Aboriginal communities in central Australia are directly involved with tourism through the provision of services and a range of tours. At present these are in the early stages of development and currently provide very little income or employment for Aboriginal people although there are considerable prospects for the future. Most Aboriginal involvement with tourism comes through trade in artefacts, and through income from other indirect contact, for example through the receipt of gate money from Uluru National Park. At Yuelamu community income from tourism is seen as one of the most important benefits. Signs indicating services available and the sale of artefacts are located on the Tanami Highway turn-off to the community at about 220 km from Alice Springs in order to bring tourists into the community. Respondents said that not enough tourists came to the community and they would like to see the numbers increase.

At Wallace Rockhole community, which is about 100 km from Alice Springs on the much busier Hermannsburg road, catering for tourists is seen as an important part of the community's future development. There were a number of tourists around at the time of the interview and they were made welcome. "We like having tourists around here. They come and spend their money in the shop." A significant effort had been made to prepare the community area for the tourist market. The Atitjere (Harts Range) community plans to make working with tourism a central part of their future development. The community's vision involves providing tours and services to tourists, with an emphasis on interpreting some of the historical features of the region. The community believes such ventures will bring income and employment.

Community members suggest that tourist traffic in the area is already sufficient to support their venture. They wish to cash in on the opportunity. Their proposal includes the development of a caravan park, with camel and horse rides taking in some attractive low range country featuring waterholes and mine sites as well as the remains of historic building infrastructure. "We want to get some horses out here so the young people can learn to ride them and they can have trail rides into the mines. What we want now is to get some money to get things like saddles and bridles."

People said that the sacred sites in the region could be protected by the traditional owners if they were in control of the tourist venture. Some local cultural features, such as a site which is connected to the well-being of travellers, were suggested as a focus for tours. Another part of the plan raised by the community involved the reconstruction of the old Harts Range police station. They have applied for a heritage grant to carry out the work necessary to present and interpret this site as a tourist attraction. A further idea was for the community to develop an animal enclosure "like the one at the Telegraph Station in Alice Springs" to keep animals for the tourists.

At Yuendumu the main reason tourists were accepted was because they bought paintings and artefacts. The old men spoken to said that making paintings and artefacts was good for the culture. "Makes him strong, we keep spears for ourselves and teach the young men." The extra incentive to produce artefacts was seen as a good thing because it provides work and helps to hone practical skills. The income from the sale of the artefacts and paintings is a significant part of people's disposable income. Telling the Aboriginal story One of the benefits Aboriginal people see in tourism is the opportunity to tell the Aboriginal story. Showing tourists the country is one aspect of this but interpreting the landscape and showing how Aboriginal people relate to land is even more important.

Not every group focussed only on Aboriginal culture. People at Mt Allan suggested that tourists could be shown traditional cattle station skills: "As long as they can camp for two days that's okay, some people you can trust, same like Aboriginal people, some good and some bad. I have been thinking about making a little yard for tourists to come and see the country and the dams and bores. We can make some displays for straps and old ropes, hobble straps and saddles to show people green hide whips and how we did things from the old days. Instead of just buying things in the old days we make em, these young blokes they don't know the old days, they don't know the droving job. We can show the tourists that." Development of roads With proposals to increase tourist access to remote areas there is a need for improving the condition of roads. Such improvements are often seen by Aboriginal people as a benefit.

Mobility is very important to Aboriginal life and improved road access is a primary interest for people in remote communities. The proposal to open the Mereenie Loop Road between the Mereenie oil and gas field (near Areyonga) and Kings Canyon to tourists has met with a positive response from Aboriginal landowners. In addition to increased business for local Aboriginal tourism ventures along the route the improved access for Aboriginal use was seen as a major benefit. At Kulpitarra community, which is situated near the Mereenie road the proposed road opening was seen as a potential benefit to local people because it would give them better access to communities in the region. "Tourism can be good for Aboriginal people. Maybe we can use that road to go shopping or down to Watarrka (Kings Canyon) for the weekend."

Aspirations and needs

Some remote communities are interested in the development of tourism based ventures. In these communities people see direct involvement with tourists as a desirable way to generate employment and income and to give information about Aboriginal culture to interested visitors. Because there are few tourist ventures managed by Aboriginal people currently running it is difficult for people to get a clear idea of the work that is involved or the other implications of such ventures. Aboriginal groups currently involved with tourism can offer valuable lessons for others planning to set up similar ventures. Support and appropriate training to develop the skills required for the management of their projects is of particular importance. Concern is also expressed about the level of control exerted over new ventures by funding bodies. Some Aboriginal tour operators do not feel as though they are in control of their projects and lack information about how they can improve their situation.

Support and training

Training is needed in a number of areas depending on the type of tourism venture and the skills of those involved. Many enterprises are supported through the services of Aboriginal organisations such as Ngurratjuta Aboriginal Corporation which provides legal, financial and administrative advice and other support. Such forms of support are often crucial to success. Aboriginal people see the benefits of these services but they also see that relying on them reduces their power to make their own decisions. There is a fine line between providing adequate and appropriate support and controlling a project. Training is very important because it allows people to develop their own skills and lessens their reliance on outside support. Some of these issues were raised in a discussion with the Aboriginal owners of a tourism venture at Watarrka.

The relationship between the Aboriginal community with its concerns for the management of a tourism venture and the interests of ATSIC and the CCNT park managers are highlighted. "Yeah there's a lot of interest, [in the tours] we go through the community out to a little hill overlooking all the valley and that. We average about four people every second day but this is only our first season. But it's hard for us because the resort takes twenty per cent of our takings, and they wanted to put an open public viewing area right in front of where we take the tours. "You know it's been hard for us because we never went through tourist management at school, we have to learn as we go along. Tourist management you can't learn it in the bush, we just getting up and doing the job, learning as we go along.

On the job we are training, we are training our kids in the job, even older people here are having some training. And they are interested in the tourism business. A lot of them kids come along on the tours they are listening and learning how to do it. "We've also been talking about a site for an office. We want some place for our bookings for our tours. We don't have control and we don't know how many people they might be turning away who want to go on our tours. No one authorised them to take twenty 20 per cent of our fees for bookings, nothing has been signed, they are just doing it. "We were promised a person in the reception here to handle bookings for us. ATSIC paid money for that position and we have got nothing for it. Ngurratjuta handles the business side of it in town. We wanted somebody down here full-time. We know we are getting done but we haven't got the business sense to know how to get out of it, the legal way, we have to rely on Ngurratjuta or Land Council to help us." "It doesn't make sense that ATSIC could put so much money into it and just sit back waiting for us to fail. They aren't helping us out and supporting us to make sure that it works, its ridiculous."

"Like I said before we have never been learning in the school how to run the tourist business. White men do that because he learns how to do it. We are learning on the job. We are not stupid, just because we can't talk the right way to get things done we know when we are getting a bad deal."

"Down the track they might say that they will help us out a bit but then it might be too late. We need the help now. We can do without them but they can benefit us and themselves by giving us some support. We have already proved that we can do it, we worked for eight months on the dole to get going. They know we can do it but we need money to maintain our vehicle. The submissions that went in to ATSIC were under quoted but they should have picked that up. They are in the business."

"There was not anything in there (the submission to ATSIC) for running costs, we had to earn that while we were on training money, we had to have someone to train us and they gave us someone but only for three months, we need him for another 12 months to make sure that everything runs, we don't know whether they will support him in the future. He has been putting in more than 100 percent and he doesn't want to see it go down the drain either. There is so much red tape put in front of us no matter what we do, like the time they [the park authorities] pulled down the wiltja's [shelters] because we didn't have a permit to build them, but they knew we were going to build them."

Information

At Ipolera community there is an established camping ground and facilities for tourists. Cultural interpretive tours of the Gosse Bluff area are also run from the community. A discussion about the problems which have been encountered in setting up the venture highlighted the need for more information to be available to those people wishing to set up similar ventures. One of the greatest problems is dealing with the various departments and organisations who have roles in tourism development. The difficulties faced by the respondents should serve as a guide for other potential Aboriginal tourism enterprise developers. A selection from the discussion follows:

"The tourism is not working too well because we can't even get money for the bookwork and stuff. We always send all our books to Ngurratjuta. That's why I wanted to talk to the boss for ATSIC because he cut everything like funding to Ngurratjuta to help us. They wanted to cut that one off because we are making money from tourists. But were not really making money out here. Just slowly we are starting to. That's why I invited him to come out here but he's on holidays now. I'll tell him straight, because we can't get help. Lands and Housing [Territory Department of Lands and Housing] are supposed to give us another two houses but they have cut them off too. All the money for those things, they have it at the government, at ATSIC, but I don't know if they will give it to us because we have to go through all the channels first to get him. I think we are going backward."

Have you been working with the Northern Territory Tourist Bureau?

"That's the only people, they been helping us, tourist bureau and conservation, those two only. Nobody else, nobody want to help us. We started before that mob at Wallace Rockhole but they have been getting help from Local Government. We don't have Local Government mob out here. And you know why, they look only at big communities not the small ones like us.

"We have got some ideas now from what has been happening. We want to start with a small business first before we build it up. We could take people over to Tnorula (Gosse Bluff) if we had an ABTA (Aboriginal Benefits Trust Account) vehicle. We can't take anyone around because we have no vehicle. We get the bush tucker and bring it here to show the people. Might be two or three years now, ever since we started, we tried to get a vehicle so we can take the people out. "The tourists get a one night permit but they always want to stay more nights. They walk around the area and look at the things. They can't go to some of the sites but they respect that and we don't have any trouble."

What do you think about the plans to open up the local road for tourists?

"Well I have been pushing for that one to be open, but not for my business, more for Aboriginal people, they can go down it. If someone has a funeral down at Docker River they can use it. People always want to go down it. We're not looking at having more people in here with that road. To start with we are trying to teach our young people. They are really keen to do the work. My younger son, he goes in to some of the meetings for me and he's getting involved with the meetings for the MacDonnell's park."

Summary

Aboriginal people gave a complex and diverse range of responses to tourism issues. They recognise a general shift in their attitudes to tourism, with increasing acceptance of tourist activity on their country. There is also increasing interest in becoming involved with tourism ventures, albeit with little awareness of what such involvement might realistically entail. In general the presence of tourists on country is passively accepted provided there are certain "safeguards". There are many places where tourists should not go and unless these places are restricted there is likely to be little support for tourism development. Tourists are likened to children, ignorant of the important things in Aboriginal Law and as a consequence they have to be kept under control, perhaps kept to particular areas, and shown country only with traditional owners who can guide them properly. The outstation environment can be seen from a different perspective.

Tourism is often not welcome to most outstation residents. A motivation for setting up outstations is to limit contact with others thereby fostering a more healthy focus on family and country. For this reason outstations are often aligned to sacred and significant sites associated with the Dreaming which gives the outstation community its identity. Aboriginal people face many difficulties in their attempts to develop tourism enterprises. There are many skills required to run a small business operation such as a tourism enterprise. There are few Aboriginal people who have these skills and it is difficult to gain access to the training and experience needed to develop them. Many people seem to harbour misconceptions about the amount of work that might be needed to run such ventures.

Those who are currently involved with tourism suggested that the level of support provided to assist them was inadequate.

Recommendations

It is recommended that: The Central Land Council and representative Aboriginal organisations continue to seek the inclusion of Aboriginal interests in the future development of tourist industry policy and tourism enterprise development. Aboriginal landowners interested in tourism and related ventures are provided with information and training to allow them to make informed decisions about the nature of their future involvement with the tourist industry.