Aborigines, Tourism and Development: the Northern Territory Experience

Abstract

This monograph has been written with two main objectives in mind. The first is to present empirical data about the economic impact of tourism on Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. There is some concern in the wider community that Aboriginal ownership of important tourist destination constrains tourism growth, but this has never been rigorously examined. The evidence presented here suggests this concern may be misplaced. Secondly, I have canvassed a range of tourism policy issues that need to be addressed, especially by Aboriginal people contemplating involvement in this industry. This policy discussion has been animated by my longer term research focus on the impact of land rights on the economic status of Aboriginal people. Will ownership of important tourism destinations, like Kakadu and Uluru National Parks, provide Aboriginal people with economic and political leverage? If not, is the granting of land rights truly ‘a first step on a long road towards self-sufficiency and eventual social and economic equality for Aborgines’? (Woodward 1974: 138)