Kosciuszko National Park: Australia’s first Ecotourism Certified Destination
One of NSW’s most popular tourism destinations, Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) has achieved Australia’s first Ecotourism Destination Certification, through Ecotourism Australia’s (EA) new Ecotourism Destination Certification program that recognises best practice in sustainable tourism in protected areas.
Wendy Hills, Director of Customer Experience, New South Wales' National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said achieving the Ecotourism Destination Certification demonstrated the clear leadership, excellence and best practice management of sustainable tourism in KNP and praised the efforts of staff.
“The Ecotourism Destination Certification, acknowledges the NPWS’ commitment to meeting visitor expectations, and delivering on its responsibility to the local community, the region’s visitor economy and sustainable developments,” Ms Hills said.
“Certification criteria includes sustainable management and maximising economic benefits to the host community while minimising negative impacts.
“Kosciusko is one of the most visited parks in NSW with an estimated 1.45 million domestic visits, the Snowy Region team do a wonderful job of managing this reserve for conservation and visitors,” Ms Hills said.
The Ecotourism Destination Certification program has been based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria for destinations and adapted to ensure relevance to large-scale and high-visitation protected areas.
Congratulating NPWS, Ecotourism Australia, Chief Executive, Rod Hillman, said KNP had demonstrated through this process, its commitment to ensuring and encouraging local businesses to provide high quality ecotourism experiences contributing to employment for a wide cross-section of the community.
“Mr Hillman praised the continued efforts of Patricia Wilkinson (Tourism Strategy Senior Project Officer, Customer Experience Division) and NPWS Southern Ranges Regional Manager Mick Pettit and his team at KNP.
“Well-run, high-visitation protected areas are critical to the success of tourism destinations and these roles are often undervalued,” Mr Hillman said.
ENDS
Media and Industry Contact:
Mr Rod Hillman, CEO
Ecotourism Australia
ceo@ecotourism.org.au
Mob: 0427 279 414
For further information visit our website or download our Ecotourism Destination Certification Essentials Brochure.