Program Wildlife Tourism Workshop 2012

Program

May 2012

WTA’s third National Workshop, marking WTA’s 10th anniversary

“Using Wildlife for Tourism: Opportunities, Threats, Responsibilities”

Tuesday 15th May

5.30pm Welcoming Cocktails and Networking Vikings Surf Club (free for all delegates registering for 3 days, $20 for others)Sponsored by Southern GoldCoast, and Denise Goodfellow

Wednesday 16th May

8.00am Registration opens Currumbin Wildlife (the venue for next 3 days)

8.15am  welcome

• Welcome to workshop, Ten years of Wildlife Tourism Australia (Ronda Green, chair WTA)
• Welcome to venue, brief history of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (Jonathan Fisher, CEO of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary)
• Welcome to the Southern Gold Coast (Kristin Zeisi and Rachael Cannard, General Manager, Southern Gold Coast)

8.45am  Keynote: Economic Benefits, Conservation and Wildlife Tourism (Professor Clem Tisdell, University of Queensland)

9.30am Morning tea (and browse posters, trade displays and Wildlife Art display) 

9.55am Contributed papers

• 9.55am Wildlife in the promotion of Australia’s national Landscapes (Jonathan Fisher, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary)
• 10.15am Tasmania’s Great Wildlife Viewing Sites Combining Tourism and Conservation (Ingrid Albion, Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife Service)
• 10.35am A new resource guide for everyone involved in recovery and management of Queensland’s Threatened Animals (Lee Curtis, Editor, Queensland’s Threatened Animals)
• 10.55am The value of quality interpretation: a short guide in how to provide memorable experiences (Barry Davies, Gondwana Guides)
• 11.40am Plant-based Tourism (Mark Ballantyne and Catherine Pickering)

 12.00noon Lunch

12.50pm Discussions: 5-minute introduction by moderator, divide into small groups 30minutes, re-unite for final discussion and collective decisions on what future actions should be

• 12.50pm The value of wildlife tourism to Australia’s economy and environment (moderator Angus M. Robinson, Leisure Solutions® and Board Member, Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife)
• 2.10pm Small business finances relevant to wildlife tourism: Insurance, licences, promotion etc. (moderator Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow)

3.30pm Afternoon tea (and browse posters, trade displays and Wildlife Art display)

3.30pm Discussion

• Using wildlife to value-add to tours and accommodation Emerging threats to wildlife and tourism (moderator Barry Davies, Gondwana Guides)

4.50pm Close of talks

 5.30pm Yanguwah: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary’s Spectacular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Show and Dinner (optional extra: special price for delegates $59pp, includes dinner, show and walk through Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at night (5.30pm pre-show drinks 6.30 – 9.00pm Show and Dinner)

 

Thursday 17th May

8.00am Registration opens 

8.15am Contributed papers

• 8.15am Are you looking at me? Tourism effects on behaviour: a Rottnest Island case study (Teele Worrell et al, Murdoch University)
• 8.35am The Repositioning of Zoos as Conservation Organisations: Evaluating the Perceptions of Stakeholders (Larry Perry, Southern Cross Universit)
• 8.55am Fostering pro-environmental behaviour of zoo visitors through persuasive communication (Liam Smith and Betty Weiler, Monash Sustainability Institute)
• 9.15am Dubai wildlife tourism :a veterinary perspective (Peter McKinney, Zoo and Wildlife Veterinary Consultant, Yandina)
• 9.35am The development of birdwatching tourism in Japan (Assoc-Professor Junko Oshima, University of the Ryukyus, Japan)

 10.00am Morning tea (and opportunity to browse posters trade displays and Wildlife Art display)

10.25am Keynote Close encounters: Why understanding human-wildlife interactions matters (Assoc-Professor Darryl N Jones, Griffith University)

 11.10am Contributed papers

• 11.10am Forming a network of marine wildlife tourism operators incvolved in research (Dr Peter Wood)
• 11.30am Let the Oceans Speak (Dr Gayle Mayes, University of the Sunshine Coast)
• 11.50pm Ecotourism as a contributor to conservation of bats in urban environments (Maree Kerr, Australasian Bat Society)
• 12.10pm Commercial and philanthropic opportunities for enhancing wildlife conservation through ecotourism (Angus M Robinson, Leisure Solutions® and Susanna Bradshaw, Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife)

12.40pm lunch

1.50pm Discussions - 5-minute introduction by moderator, divide into small groups 30minutes, re-unite for final discussion and collective decisions on what future actions should be

• 1.50pm The Repositioning of Zoos as Conservation Organisations (moderator, Larry Perry, Southern Cross University)
• 3.00 pm The three-way marriage of conservation, research and tourism (moderator Peter Wood)

 4.10pm afternoon tea (and browse posters, trade displays and Wildlife Art display)

4.30pm Discussion

• Emerging threats to wildlife and tourism (moderator Ronda Green, Araucaria Ecotours and Chair WTA)

 5.40pm close of afternoon session (option of drinks at bar opens 5.30pm)

6.30pm New Wildlife Tourism Television Series: opportunity to participate.Viewing of 25 minute pilot film for a television series by Lin Sutherland of Travel Wild, on wildlife tourism that assists conservation (this episode will be on the theme of the economics of wildlife tourism) followed by a half-hour discussion, including where and what to film and possibilities for funding, of special interest for those who may be interested in being involved with the series. Lin will be leading the discussion.

 

Friday 18th May

8.00am Registration opens

 8.10am Contributed papers 

• 8.10am The Baby Dreaming Project: the Snake as Sister (Interpretation the Indigenous way) (Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow, Southern Cross University and vice chair WTA)
• 8.30am Marine Plastic Debris – a threat – and opportunity for Wildlife Tourism  (Ian Hutton,, Lord Howe Island Nature Tours)
• 8.50am Psychological Variables for Conservation through Wildlife Tourism (Rodolfo Sapiains, University of Queensland)
• 9.10am Managing Wildlife Tourism: an ethics approach to human-wildlife interactions (Dr Leah Burns, Griffith University)
• 9.30am Some trends in the demand for wildlife tourism (Dr Ronda Green, chair WTA, proprietor Araucaria Ecotours, adjunct research fellow Envrionmental Futures, Griffith University)

9.50am Morning tea (and browse posters, trade displays and Wildlife Art display)

10.20  Keynote – What is Wildlife Tourism in 2012, and what do people want? (Shane O’Reilly, Managing Director, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat)

 11.05 Discussion 

• Providing high-quality memorable wildlife experiences (moderator Dr Ronda Green, Araucaria Ecotours and chair WTA)

12.15pm lunch

1.15pm Discussions

• 1.15pm Wildlife interpretation for different kinds of visitor (moderator Barry Davies, Gondwana Guides)
• 2.25pm Environmental ethics and wildlife tourism (Dr Leah Burns, Griffith University)

3.45pm Afternoon tea (and browse posters, trade displays and Wildlife Art display)

4.15 Summing up of past three days

4.30 Final plenary discussion: General discussion of all topics, suggestions from everyone on any actions we should support for the future (lobbying, policy statements, press releases, networking, partnerships etc.), resolutions of actions to be taken up by WTA committee in the coming year

5.30 Close of Workshop

 

Saturday-Sunday 19-20th May

TBA (rainforest, wildlife parks, coastal habitats, birdwatching, glowworms, wildlife art display