Case study

Visitor mangement

Kakadu Park is a World Heritage site in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was established as a
National Park in the late 1980s. The establishment of the Park was an attempt to reconcile the interests
of conservation, mining, Aboriginal land rights and tourism. Kakadu achieved World Heritage status in
1992. Kakadu has a tropical climate, with high temperatures all year round (with a mean between 30
and 37C). It has two seasons; a wet season from October to March and dry season from April to
September. Heavy rain falls, particularly in January and February, and this causes widespread flooding in
the riverine floodplains. The area has several large rivers and streams. The climate supports a complex
tropical ecosystem and the only recent arrival of Europeans and European descended settler’s means
Kakadu is a major habitat for a large range of wildlife. This chapter has introduced a discussion of the
key players in tourism planning and management. The major players are the tourists themselves,
members of host communities, representatives of the travel industry and government agencies. NGOs
and the media are also important players in relation to tourism planning and management. In relation to
tourists and host communities, it is important to note that neither group is homogenous. However, the
heterogeneity of tourists and host communities is often ignored in much tourism literature, including
that on planning and management. This heterogeneity contributes to the complexity of planning and
managing tourism. The government role in tourism is often viewed as promotional rather than
regulatory, although government at various levels fulfils both these roles. The tourism industry, although
it is multi-faceted, is frequently viewed as being in need of external regulation in relation to tourism
impacts. However, recently, some sectors of the industry have made attempts to regulate themselves.
NGOs and the media have been important in relation to tourism planning and management. Historically,
the media has tended to act in a largely promotional role, but more recently, particularly through its
focus on issues and the mounting of campaigns on tourism themes, a more critical stance has been
developed.