Tourism Issues in Bayron Bay Presentation

Introduction

• Byron bay is a beachside town in New South Wales. It is located in the far northeastern corner of the country (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2001).
• The town is home for more than 28,000 residents.
• The town boasts its wealth in the tourism sector. It has several beaches that are popular for surfing (Ludwig, 1988).
• It is also a resort that has become popular with both domestic and international tourists.
• The type of tourists visiting include backpackers, among others.
• Tourism activities include whale watching, scuba diving and snorkeling (Abnett and Realty, 1999).

Planning and development stages

• Based on the course outline, Byron Bay was selected as a suitable case study.
• Research was done on the case study and relevant literature collected.
• The main issues in the tourism industry of the case study were assessed based on the existing literature.
• Based on the issues identified earlier, alternatives have been proposed.

Overview and key issues

• With increased tourism activities, there is increase in cases of uncontrolled holiday rentals in residential areas. This causes disturbances due to noise pollution.
• There is traffic congestion and lack of parking space.
• They cause negative impacts on the environment. The policies in place do not seem to ensure sustainability.
• There is risk of loss of the town’s cultural identity.
• There are issues with planning legislation that control tourism development.
• Most screens of the blackberry phones are small and make reading texts or enjoying applications difficult.

Policies in tourism planning

• Tourism is the economic lifeblood in Byron (Richardson, 1994).
• In the quest to maximize returns from tourism, the tourists visiting Byron are welcome with no consideration on the impact of tourism pressure.
• The legislative framework appears deficient in regulating some of the activities by the tourists (such as noise) that seem to cause conflict.
• The coalition roads policy is starting to recognize the need to improve its infrastructure in order to ease traffic congestion and delays.
• The state also recognized the pressure in the sewerage system due to the population pressure.

Main stakeholder considerations

• In Byron, the main stakeholder considerations during the policy making process seem to be the tourists.
• Tourism is the main economic activity; the only way to foster it is by giving priority to the tourists and ensuring their comfort (mostly at the expense of its resident’s comfort).
• Many residents leave the town due to the unfavorable environment created by the tourists.
• However, efforts have been underway to try to make tourism sustainable.
• Some of the efforts include setting aside funds to enable studies to be conducted in order to ensure sustainability in tourism management in Byron Bay (Rob, 2001).

Results of the tourism development

Economic growth

• Since tourism is fully exploited in Byron Bay, the economic returns are high (Backer, 2002).
• Tourism is diversified with the availability of various tourism activities that attract tourists of all kinds.

Employment

• With the increase in tourist attraction sites, the need to increase workforce arises which this implies an increase in employment in the tourism industry.

Environmental impact

• The increase in customer number exerts a great pressure on the available resources and the residents of the area (Bannister, 1997).
• Increase in noise pollution due to freedom that tourists enjoy.
• Deterioration in the sewage system due to population pressure.

Community

• It is evident that the population pressure is now having its toll on the indigenous community. This has caused an increase in the community resistance (Jackson, 1990).
• Uncontrolled rentals in residential areas are causing discomfort to the community.

Social and cultural considerations

• Due to the ever-increasing number of visitors from various cultures, the risk of culture erosion is posing a threat to the residents’ identity (Rob, 2002).

Sustainability and visitor satisfaction

• Since priority is given to the tourists, there is customer satisfaction (Butler, 1980). However, if tourism is not made sustainable, there may be customer dissatisfaction in the near future.

Proposed alternative strategy

• The population pressure is becoming high. Therefore, the leaders of the country should limit the number of tourists visiting the area.
• Priority should be given to those visiting the area for a short while.
• The infrastructure should be developed to sustain the population.
• The sewage system should be able to sustain the population.
• Regulations should be put in place in order to ensure that the environment is sustained and the cultures of the people preserved.

References

Abnett, C & Realty, R 1999, Draft Report on the Byron Bay, Suffolk Park, Ewingsdale and Brunswick Heads Tourism Capacity Study, Brisbane.

Backer, E 2002, The importance, and tourism potential of the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market to coastal and hinterland communities within Eastern Australia, NSW, Lismore.

Bannister, B 1997, Attitudes of residents towards the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism on Byron Bay, NSW, Lismore.

Bureau of Tourism Research, 2001, Northern Rivers – Tropical NSW Region, Tourism Profile, Sydney.

Butler, R 1980, Concept of a Tourist Area Life Cycle Evolution, Canadian Geographer, Canada.

Jackson, R 1990, ‘VFR Tourism: Is It Underestimated?’, The Journal of Tourism Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1-21.

Ludwig, R 1988, Byron Shire Tourism Plan, Mullumbimby, Lismore.

Richardson, L 1994, What attracts People to Byron Bay, NSW, Lismore.

Rob, T 2001, Study of Visitor Information Centre Establishment and Operation, QLD, Coolum Beach.

Rob, T 2002, Study of National Tourism Trends: Internal Working Paper, QLD, Coolum Beach.