Tourist Popular Destination: The Kangaroo Island

Introduction

Listed as one of the 1000 places to see before you die , Kangaroo Island is a premier tourist destination located off the coast of South Australia. It attracts mostly tourists from South Australia as it is an easily accessible destination to get to. A short ferry trip across Backstairs Passage on the Sea Link ferry will bring you to the town of Penneshaw. The island “…has become a sought-after tourism destination due to its national parks and the wildlife that exists within them.” The main industry on the island is agriculture but it also has a flourishing food and wine industry.

When considering the success of primarily a nature based destination, the costs must be considered in order to determine its success. The environmental, economic and socio-cultural costs of Kangaroo Island are of high importance if it is to remain as a sustainable tourism destination.

Environmental effects

Over the years, the increased rate of visitors travelling to Kangaroo Island has led to the island being more aware of the impact that tourism is having on their natural environment. As ‘Kangaroo Island is one of the world’s great pristine nature-based destinations’ , the environment would be the most important thing when considering the impact that tourism has on the island. As a result of this, a Tourism Optimisation Management Model (TOMM) was implemented in 1997. It was designed specifically for Kangaroo Island. One of its environmental aims is that ‘Visitor activity has minimal negative impacts on the natural environment.’

Beach driving is one environmental cost that is majorly linked to tourism on the island. To control this, Emu Bay is the only beach where cars are permitted on the sand. The preservation of this beau...

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...positive and negative effects to the region. These socio-cultural, economic and environmental costs all contribute to the success of a tourism destination. The costs associated with Kangaroo Island tourism do not outweigh the benefits, as these costs are being closely monitored through various programs such as the Tourism Optimisation Management Model (TOMM). This model actively monitors the environmental and economic impacts that tourism is having on the island, without letting them ruin the destination. Costs such as the destruction of the natural environment and seasonality do not outweigh the benefits that tourism brings to the region, such as all the economic benefits. Kangaroo Island is a sustainable nature based tourism destination that successfully balances all the costs associated with tourism on the island to provide a beautiful environment for tourists.