Objectives of Tourism in Protected Areas (TIPA)
- Objective 1: Provide for sustainable nature-based tourism in Queensland's national parks
- Objective 2: Manage capacity to maximise commercial opportunities through an equitable and transparent process
- Objective 3: Reduce administration for all parties
- Objective 4: Improve certainty for industry to foster long-term investment
- Objective 5: Achieve best practice standards in nature-based toursim
- Objective 6: Targeted compliance and monitoring
Objective 1: Provide for sustainable nature-based tourism in Queensland's national parks
Collaborative site planning with stakeholders to develop the long-term vision for Queensland’s protected areas is an important platform of TIPA. This will ensure that nature-based tourism can develop and diversify in harmony with the natural environment. Unique natural values, including landscape, wildlife, and cultural and heritage values, are fundamental to tourism attraction and protecting these is paramount in developing the vision for the area.
A key tool in the implementation of TIPA is the sustainable visitor capacity framework, which has been developed to:
- identify limits of visitor capacity taking into account factors including, but not limited to, existing use and impacts, natural restrictions of the area, existing infrastructure and alternative opportunities
- consider anticipated future growth, aspirations and opportunities in the surrounding landscape
- allocate capacity in consultation with stakeholders and considering the needs of commercial operators and other visitors including schools, other organised groups and independent visitors
- identify options to achieve the vision which may include access to alternative sites, upgraded or new infrastructure and alternative and innovative tourism activities.
By monitoring all visitor use, TIPA will ensure sites are managed at sustainable levels. This will make available the full capacity allocated for commercial tourism use. It will also ensure that any impacts are identified and managed to ensure Queensland’s internationally recognised national parks remain an iconic tourism experience.
Objective 2: Manage capacity to maximise commercial opportunities through an equitable and transparent process
A sustainable visitor capacity framework will be used to determine optimum visitor numbers for sites in TIPA areas.
The move to a system based on sustainable visitor capacities will require that existing permit allocations are reviewed. It may also require that some allocations be reduced to achieve sustainable levels at a site. New allocations within sustainable levels will be issued in commercial activity agreements.
A key issue identified by the TIPA working group in the late 1990s was that permits were not often used to full capacity. The working group recommended a key principle be that TIPA should facilitate availability and effective use of allocated capacity.
With this in mind, the historical use of existing operators will be used in deciding future allocations that are within sustainable levels. New site allocations will be determined by the operator’s highest annual use for the previous five years plus additional capacity for growth. All existing operators have been legally required to submit returns for operations and this data will be the basis for new allocations. The data will be collated by QPWS and then verified with the operator.
Basing new allocations on the highest annual use over the previous five years takes into account seasonal variations and the significant changes in demand experienced in the wider tourism market over the past couple of years. The aim of this process is not to remove peak seasonal capacity from operators but to reduce the amount of latent capacity in permits while still allowing scope for business growth within sustainable limits.
Once existing operators transition to commercial activity agreements site capacities will be reviewed and subject to prevailing market conditions, there may be commercial capacity within sustainable limits available for offer to the market. An open and equitable expression of interest process will be used to offer capacity to the market.
Over the longer term QPWS will monitor use at sites and use of operator allocations. Every five years QPWS will review operator use, and allocations will be re-issued based on the percentage of highest annual use in the previous five years, including potential for growth. If capacity is available within sustainable limits it will be offered to the market through an open and equitable expression of interest process to create opportunities for growth and diversification.
More details can be found in the Transferring from an Existing Commercial Activity Permit to a Commercial Activity Agreement fact sheet (PDF, 462K)*.
Objective 3: Reduce administration for all parties
TIPA offers a more efficient and streamlined system for tourism operators and protected area managers.
Administrative benefits from TIPA include:
- Renewal requirements reduced four-fold. Currently permits are renewed every three years, whereas under agreements one renewal will be available at the 10-year mark in a 15-year term.
- Returns and daily passenger fees required every quarter instead of every month.
Objective 4: Improve certainty for industry to foster long-term investment
Creating successful and best-practice nature-based tourism requires long-term planning and investment. Security of tenure is an important ingredient in enabling operators to invest in operations creating quality experiences for visitors and this is particularly important in Queensland’s iconic park destinations.
TIPA contributes to this aim by increasing the term of access from three years to periods of up to 15 years.
Under TIPA, operators will be able to:
- transfer part or whole of the capacity issued in their agreement
- transfer an agreement in the event of the sale of their business
- subcontract capacity (QPWS will require transparent disclosure and reporting of these arrangements and the subcontractor is required to meet all requirements of the agreement holder).
Objective 5: Achieve best practice standards in nature-based toursim
Accreditation has been a longstanding issue at both a state and national level. State and federal strategies, including the National Long-term Tourism Strategy, have supported greater recognition of accreditation programs.
QPWS has legislative responsibilities for the preservation and presentation of the natural condition of protected areas and their cultural values, and in ensuring that any use in protected areas is ecologically sustainable.
The quality and diversity of Queensland’s natural environment is increasingly recognised as the foundation of the state’s competitive tourism advantage.
The quality of tourism product and operation is equally important in maintaining that competitive edge. Eco-accreditation identifies standards that contribute to the quality and sustainability of these experiences by assuring visitors the products are committed to sustainable environmental practices, best business practice and high-quality nature-based experiences.
TIPA will contribute to this competitive advantage by requiring that all commercial tour operators at TIPA sites apply for QPWS-endorsed eco-accreditation within 12 months of entering into agreements and have successfully attained accreditation within 18 months of entering the agreement. Operators will be required to maintain this for the life of the agreement.
QPWS will partner with independent eco-accreditation providers who meet set criteria in their accreditation programs.
Ongoing auditing and compliance will be a key requirement of eco-accreditation.
More information is provided in the Eco-accreditation fact sheet (PDF, 437K)*.
Objective 6: Targeted compliance and monitoring
A targeted compliance program will ensure equitable and best practice operations in all TIPA areas. QPWS will work with industry to identify key areas of concern and develop strategies that support the management of sites for the benefit of operators, visitors and park managers.
Unauthorised and non-accredited operators will not be able to operate within TIPA sites.
QPWS will conduct regular reviews of operations to ensure adherence to agreement terms.
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Last updated 26 May 2011