Program background
Why do we need a sea change for the tourism industry in Manly?
Manly is a famous beachside suburb of Sydney located 12km north east of the CBD in the Northern Beaches region. Surrounded on 3 sides by water, Manly is a place of incredible natural beauty and diversity. The area's natural attractions along with its cultural heritage make it a mecca for both local and international tourists as well as day-trippers year round.
Established in the 1850's as Australia's first seaside resort, Manly has a long history of tourism. Today a significant tourism business sector exists in the area including hotels, motels, bed and breakfast accommodation and backpacker hostels, as well as over 80 cafes and restaurants and many attractions such as Sydney Harbour National Park, a large aquarium and outdoor activity businesses such as surf schools and boat hire businesses.
Manly is one of Sydney's most popular tourist destinations with an estimated 6 million people currently visiting the area per year. Despite being good for the local economy, current visitation levels in Manly and the predicted rate of increase in visitor numbers (6.2% per annum) are cause for concern as social and environmental pressures are intensifying in line with visitor numbers. A study carried out in 2005 on tourism in Manly revealed that many local residents are concerned about the costs of tourism on their lifestyles, the environment and the public purse.
Without management strategies in place, continued growth of the tourism industry in Manly is unsustainable and could result in a degraded environment and divided community. Sea Change for Sustainable Tourism offers a new tourism management strategy that targets the primary beneficiary of tourism in Manly: business. This strategy plays on corporate responsibility and the obligatory role business needs to assume to ensure that the values of Manly are protected for both current and future generations. The program model employs education and incentives to support and motivate businesses to adopt triple bottom line management practices. This approach aims to minimise the negative impacts of tourism at the source and generate a sustainable local tourism industry.
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