Monday, 15 October 2012
Coast To Showcase ‘Best
Environmental Practice’
FRASER COAST: A visit to a sewerage treatment plant, worm farm, solar diesel hybrid power station
and a climate change trail walk are on the cards for a group of Indonesians visiting the Fraser Coast
this week. But these aren't any ordinary tourists.
The visitors from Indonesia’s Gili Matra Islands are in town - as part of a collaborative leadership
project aimed at marrying Australian expertise with Indonesian tourism leaders and decision makers to learn about best practices in integrated coastal and marine management from two of the Fraser
Coast’s leading tourism operators - Kingfisher Bay Resort and Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort.
The University of the Sunshine Coast’s (USC) Dr Gayle Mayes* and Associate Professor Bill Carter*
have designed the visit, under the university’s ‘Australian Leadership Award Fellowship’ (ALAF) plan*.
Dr Mayes said the aim of the three-week famil was to build a knowledge base of industry best practice
and to assist the group in developing sustainable and integrated approaches to coastal and marine
tourism development and resource management.
“Last year I was fortunate to visit Lombok – a small group of Indonesian islands with fringing coral
reefs - with a group of academics, with the aim of developing collaborative education and research
projects with operators back in Australia,” Dr Mayes said.
“What we found is that the tourism development of Gili Matra has far surpassed the carrying capacity
of the island; tourism management and development are unregulated; and there is minimal
compliance with marine conservation practices, which has resulted in marine life being fished out.”
“We have previously achieved success with a similar ALAF program with the Cambodian Ministry of
Tourism and plan to deliver a tourism mentoring project - with the support of AusAID Federal
Government funding – that will showcase world’s best practice and offer sustainable and workable
solutions for Gili Matra.”
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” she said.
The delegation, from the Nusa Tenggar Barat province, has spent the past week meeting with
academics and state government representatives; this next phase will showcase industry best practice.
During their time on the Fraser Coast, the group will be taken on a series of back-of-house tours
incorporating Kingfisher Bay Resort’s worm farm, waste management and recycling station and Lady
Elliot’s solar diesel hybrid power station and climate change adaption and interpretation trail.
Lady Elliot’s Managing Director, Peter Gash, said he understood that sustainable coastal and marine
tourism practices, including marine vessel management, were high on the agenda for the visit.
“It’s fitting that the Fraser Coast is showcasing best environmental tourism practices in an
environment that is not dissimilar to Indonesia” he said. “Our team will be talking to the group about
ecologically sustainable tourism practices and some of the eco initiatives that we have introduced on
Lady Elliot Island”.
And on Fraser Island, Head Ranger Colin Anderson said environmental interpretation was a key tenet
in Kingfisher Bay Resort’s environmental philosophy and the resort group had jumped at the chance to
share their eco-tourism ‘know how’ with such an enthusiastic audience.
“We look forward to sharing our approach to the sustainable management of our resort on Fraser
Island and to seeing the positive results of this mentoring for the people of Gili Matra,” he said.
The group will also visit Hamilton Island (chosen as it has a school and a stable community) and
Moreton Island (as it is relatively close to a large CBD district) and will spend time on Fraser Island’s
Central Station and Lake McKenzie during their time in Australia.
Ends.
Editor’s Notes:
*Dr Gayle Mayes is a Lecturer in Tourism Leisure and Events Management. Associate Professor Bill
Carter is Associate Director of the Sustainability Research Centre. The ALAF program and tour are
supported by staff from the USC International Projects Group that won a national award last week for
its outstanding work in developing and conducting more than 22 of these international programs in
collaboration with academic staff.
We are happy to arrange interviews with the following:

Kingfisher Bay Resort (Ecotourism in practice) - Colin Anderson, Head Ranger – 0429 067 088
http://www.kingfisherbay.com/images/media/fraser-facts/ecotourismresortshortversion.pdf

University of Sunshine Coast - Gayle Mayes, Adjunct Senior Lecturer
Media Contact
Jodi Clark Jodi_Clark@kingfisherbay.com Phone +617 3032 2809