The ‘Green Cauldron’ has been added to Australia’s list of ecologically diverse destinations.
The list or National Landscapes Programme is an incentive run by the federal, state and local governments and Tourism Australia aiming to promote places like Kakadu, the Red Centre, the Great Ocean Road and the Australian Alps as must-see natural attractions.
Newest member to the list the ‘Green Cauldron’ is an area stretching from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast, and inland towards the Great Dividing Range.
Robyn Rae, Chair of the Green Cauldron Steering Committee, said: “Amazing, wild, diverse, elemental, mystical, breathtaking, special, very, very real and very, very green; this spectacular land is part of a living Gondwanan rainforest.”
Peter Garrett, Federal Minister for the Environment, commented: “Nature-based tourism can continue to grow and contribute to the economy, which is critical to education and conservation and ways of building sustainable tourism for the long-term.”
And it seems that sustainable, eco-friendly tourism is a hot topic Australia-wide with Tasmanian tour operators being warned of losing visitors if they don’t address the issue. In a recent tourism conference on the island state sustainable tourism expert Kim McKay told delegates: “We’re seeing in research… that sustainability and environmental performance is becoming a criteria when people are selecting a destination.”
“If Australia is to be competitive in the global market place and indeed in the domestic market we’ve got to appeal to all travellers,” Ms McKay concluded.
