Geotourism Forum
The Geotourism Forum was launched by Ecotourism Australia at the 2013 Global Eco Asia Pacific Conference. It is a grouping of enthusiastic Ecotourism Forum members who are working to 'add value' to Australia’s nature-based tourism offering. The main purpose of the Geotourism Forum is to advise how best geotourism can be promoted and to further Ecotourism Australia’s interest in inspiring environmentally sustainable and culturally responsible tourism. Membership of the Geotourism Forum is open, at no additional cost, to any members of Ecotourism Australia who are interested in finding out more about geotourism or who have product offerings that are rich in landscape and geology features, all of which enhances visitor engagement, learning and enjoyment. Geology underpins almost all of a destination’s natural features and visitors are increasingly keen to learn about this distinctive part of the environment.
The Australian Government through Austrade has recently released THRIVE 2030 which is Australia’s new national strategy for the long-term sustainable growth of the visitor economy
One of the agreed actions of the THRIVE 2030 Strategy is to ‘grow and develop high-quality products and experiences around unique Australian locations and themes, including approaches which integrate sustainable nature tourism with economic opportunities for Traditional Owners, and capitalising on emerging tourism trends such as geotourism.’
Benefits
The benefits of joining the Geotourism Forum include the following:
- Becoming part of a networked grouping dedicated to the development and advocacy of geotourism with emerging links overseas, particularly in the Asia-Pacific Region.
- The opportunity to contribute to geotourism policy development activity, particularly relating to the formulation through Ecotourism Australia of contributions to the National Geotourism Strategy launched in April 2021 by the Australian Geoscience Council.
- The opportunity to highlight individual positioning in the geotourism sector through participation in Forum activities.
- Priority opportunity to sponsor Forum meetings and other activities.
- The opportunity to be engaged in any designated Forum work plan activity through participation by joining Dr Ronda Green of Araucaria Ecotours and Chair of Wildlife Tourism Australia (also representing Ecotourism Australia) in a National Geotourism Strategy working group.
- The opportunity to participate in the LinkedIn Discussion Group - Australian Geotourism Development, a group which now comprises nearly 700 members.
- Access to information concerning latest publications and overseas conferences relating to geotourism.
More information
For more information about geotourism and various exciting projects that are now emerging around Australia, please refer to the Geotourism Resource Centre.
If you are already a member of Ecotourism Australia and would like to join the Geotourism Forum, please contact the Ecotourism Australia office at eco@ecotourism.org.au. For more information about the Forum, please do not hesitate to contact Elissa Keenan, CEO of Ecotourism Australia, on 07 3256 6777.
If you would like to learn more about Geotourism, Geotrails and Geoparks as a Tourism Development Opportunity for Regional Australia, you will find further information here.
If you would like to become part of the Geotourism Forum but are not a member of Ecotourism Australia yet, register now here.