• Role and structure of the tourism industry.
• Potential environmental impacts of tourism.
• Potential social and cultural impacts of tourism.
• Land use and planning responsibilities within and between spheres of govemment.

Tourism is an industry that is capable of contributing to sound economic development and substantial employment generation in Australia 's over the coming years. Because of the complementarities that exist between tourism and the environment, it will be in the best interest of both economic and ecological values if the tourism industry develops in accordance with the principles of ESD.

General environmental impacts of tourism include those resulting from the development of tourism infrastructure and facilities and those arising from the presence of tourists themselves.

A growing proportion of international and domestic tourists are seeking what can be described as alternative or cultural tourism as a major component of their holiday, embracing experiences that have a specific educational, cultural, or scientific focus.

Key recommendations:

• that ongoing ESD decision-making processes should continue to emphasise the cooperative involvement of all stakeholders, including governments, industry and conservation organisations; indigenous people should also be represented in this process;
• governmental recognition in legislation that integrated land use plans, based on ecological systems or biophysical regions, are the central components of a multi-tiered land use planning process.

environmental impact assessment:

• conduct EIA's to determine the cumulative, interactive and long-term environmental impacts of development projects on neighbouring areas and regional resources;
• EIA be extended to formally include assessment of the social and cultural impacts of any proposed development;
• national guide-lines on the application of EIA be developed and ratified intergovernmentally;
• nationally recognised accreditation system for individuals and organisations preparing environmental impact statements (EIS);
• appropriate authorities address restrictions and inhibitions to community participation in the EIA process to ensure that such participation is facilitated at the earliest possible opportunity;
• strategic tourism plans be developed by State and Territory Governments in collaboration with local governments and tourism industry bodies;

funding and fees:

• governments provide adequate budget funding to ensure that protected areas are managed and maintained to the highest standard;
• governments introduce, or review, systems of park-use fees so that those using facilities and/or services in protected areas contribute directly to the costs of management.;

indigenous people:

• information about the possibilities of participation of indigenous people in the tourism industry be made available;
• the tourism industry be provided with accurate information about the cultural diversity of indigenous people;
• market research be undertaken to identify potential commercial opportunities and scope for indigenous peoples' involvement or employment in tourism;
• assessment of education and training needs of indigenous people in tourism.

The Working Group recommends that industry codes of environmental practice continue to be developed, implemented and reviewed and that industry performance in implementing such codes be audited.

Other areas that the Working Group made recommendations on include the development of marketing strategies and campaigns which incorporate ESD goals; the establishment of criteria and conditions under which commercial activities within protected areas may be appropriate; performance bonds as a condition of development approval where there is a risk of unacceptable environmental damage; accurate pre-visit information, interpretation programs and internationally recognised signage, and provision of interpretation in languages other than English; the need for a code of behaviour for tourists based on ESD principles; community participation; the incorporation of ESD principles into education and training curricula; and the need for market research to make an accurate assessment of international visitors' demand for types of tourism, particularly ecotourism.

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