China's burgeoning outbound tourist market has become a priority for Australian tourism, with national and state tourism reports advocating for 'China-ready' marketing, policy and planning and increased industry training around Chinese consumer behaviour and preferences to capitalise on this market. However, studies demonstrate that Chinese tourists are generally not interested in Indigenous tourism experiences. Nevertheless, the state of Victoria is adamant about investing in Indigenous-themed tourism products which are considered appropriate for Chinese preferences in an attempt to attract tourists from this growing inbound market. This article presents a review of relevant state government policies relating to Indigenous tourism alongside a case study of the tourism experiences developed and provided by Gunditjmara people along the Budj Bim CulturalLandscape in southwest Victoria. We demonstrate the ways that notions of 'authenticity' continue to shape, and constrain, Indigenous economic engagement and participation via tourism, and discuss the impact of these notions on the provision of Indigenous tourism products and experiences for Chinese and other visitors. We argue that the marketing of Gunditjmara tourism to fluctuating market demand highlights the arbitrariness of Australian governments' policies 52 | BOAG et Al.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.