The Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) and Tourism Australia have today launched a three-year partnership to drive excellence in visitor experiences and sustainable tourism business practices.
Through the partnership, Tourism Australia and ATIC will encourage business participation in the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation, Accessible Tourism, Tourism Emissions Reduction and Australian Tourism Awards programs.
Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said international visitors were seeking tourism businesses that offered world-class accessible and sustainable visitor experiences.
“We encourage tourism businesses to assess their accessibility and sustainability efforts, measure their carbon emission and embed business practices and procedures to ensure sustainability goals are achieved,” Ms Harrison said.
ATIC Chair Evan Hall said the suite of programs offers businesses across Australia a clear pathway to achieve sustainable tourism accreditation, evaluate their accessibility and emissions, and provide accurate information to visitors.
The Australian Government, through Austrade’s Quality Tourism Framework Grant Program, is providing $8 million towards these programs.
Mr Hall said the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation was the largest and longest-running sustainability program in the tourism industry, with more than 3500 participating businesses. Accreditation incorporates sustainability across environmental, cultural, social and commercial business practices.
“The Sustainable Tourism Accreditation program is designed for small, medium and regional tourism businesses, and can be accessed online at any time,” Mr Hall said.
“We encourage all tourism businesses to participate in the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation, Accessible Tourism and Tourism Emissions Reduction programs to strengthen Australia’s reputation as a high quality, sustainable and inclusive destination for all.”
