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Eco tourism is a burgeoning global movement but it is something you can enjoy closer to home than you might think.
By Harry Mulholland
The Central Coast region of New South Wales, which is widely recognised for its many pristine beaches, bushlands, and gourmet food options, has been recognised as an ‘Outstanding Region’ in this year’s Harvey Norman Produce Awards, the latest in a string of achievements elevating the region of a national and global tourism platform.
The Central Coast is also one of only three regions in New South Wales to be awarded with an ECO Destination Certificate, and it was named one of just five Australian destinations in the Green Destinations’ International 2021 Top 100 Sustainability Stories list.
The Central Coast region received it’s ECO Destination Certificate in June 2022, after Central Coast Council applied for it 20 months prior.
The application was approved after an independent auditor assigned by Ecotourism Australia reviewed the submission, conducted interviews with Council staff, stakeholders, and tourism operators in the region.
The auditor said that the Central Coast was to be commended for its sustainability planning, being only the second region in NSW and the third in the whole of Australia to apply for the Destination Certificate through Ecotourism Australia.
“Rarely have I seen such commitment to pursue what is very much a brand rebuild for the Central Coast Community, as well as Central Coast Council.
“The Central Coast will no longer be “a corridor” for travellers between Sydney and Newcastle, it is well placed to become “the” destination of choice in the region,” the auditor said.
Central Coast Council Administrator, Rik Hart, said becoming an accredited ECO Destination was a priority action in their Destination Management Plan and is now encouraging further growth in the tourism sector.
“The Central Coast is known to be rich in world-class, nature-based tourist attractions which confirms the region as one that is well-placed to attract an increasing number of visitors seeking sustainable tourism experiences.
“Tourism is an important pillar of the Central Coast economy, and ecotourism will play an integral role in ensuring our region is front of mind for responsible and conscious visitors, based on globally recognised sustainability principles.
“Together with local ECO certified and nature-based operators in the region, Council is now well-equipped with the business tools to support holistic, sustainable destination management, and is beyond excited to see how our ECO Destination continues to boost the local economy and enhance liveability and community pride.
“The past few years have seen the Central Coast impacted by severe weather events and an ongoing pandemic.
“The Marketing and Tourism team have been able to develop a brand that resonates with locals and visitors in the region, and one which has shown resilience throughout recent emergency situations.
“We have a clear roadmap for the continued growth and development of the visitor economy and look forward to continuing our work with the tourism industry, tourism funding bodies and other regional stakeholders to ensure the success of the Central Coast,” Hart said.
Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Officer, Elissa Keenan, said the Central Coast is an outstanding region to become a certified ECO Destination.
“We are delighted to see the Central Coast become the newest ECO Certified Destination in Australia and are excited to see the region continue to flourish through its commitment to sustainable tourism practices.
“This is the second region in Australia to achieve ECO Destination certification through our partnership with WWF Australia, following the devastating bushfires of 2019-2020.
“We are proud to work with WWF Australia to help affected destinations build back better.
“We congratulate the Central Coast on their commitment to ongoing improvement of sustainable practices while providing high-quality nature-based tourism experiences within the region,” Keenan said.
The Central Coast has six ECO certified operators including the Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre in Terrigal, Aquafun Avoca Lake at Avoca, Iris Lodge Alpacas at Jilliby, Elixir Journeys, TreeTops at Ourimbah, and Noonaweena at Kulnura
A further nine operators including Terrigal Ocean Tours, Sydney Oyster Farm Tours at Mooney Mooney, Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures, Grace Springs Farm at Kulnura, Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park at Calga, Jake Cassar Bushcraft Tours, Canton Beach Paddleshack, Bombora Ettalong Beach SUP and Rocky Trail Entertainment have applied for ECO certification.
Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre in Terrigal became an ECO Certified destination in 2019, offering visitors the chance to see and learn about marine life native to the Central Coast region.
Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre Chairman, John Asquith OAM, said the Centre was founded in 2005 to promote marine and coastal education, sustainability, tourism and enjoyment of coasts and catchments.
The Centre has just taken delivery of a new seashell sculpture which is bound to capture the imagination of ocean-lovers young and old.
“Eco-tourism is nature-based tourism with similar objectives.
“At the Marine Centre we have quite a lot of attractions covering a wide range of interests including aquariums, static displays on the branches of natural science from ecology to birds and marine mammals, some maritime heritage, children’s activities, science displays including a digital microscope, and a café, park and shop.
“This year we will receive between seven and eight thousand visitors, mostly families from the Central Coast or schools.
“We also get some day visitors from Sydney and tourists on the Central Coast,” Asquith said.
Marine Scientist at the Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre, Jon Roast, said the centre has many species of fish, invertebrates and seahorses on display.
“We make a conscious effort not to buy any of our fish as we have an educational collection licence, and most of our fish in the tanks were caught here at Terrigal Haven.
“We get many visitors from Sydney and Newcastle, and we have a lot of locals who are what I call repeat offenders who have a yearlong pass.
“We even have some people that come every two weeks.
“We have our virtual reality dive which lets visitors who can’t dive experience what it’s like to be in the HMAS Adelaide.
“We have a kids’ colouring in and painting area, and we have our science lab which gets visitors to do science activities like identifying different sea shells.
“We tend to target the basic levels of understanding so everyone can learn and have fun.
“We also have information on the deep sea and how light affects the creatures that live down there.
“What we like to bring home is the ocean is a wonderful and weird place, and we’re always learning more about it, and we’re encouraging people to take care of the ocean,” Roast said.
The Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre also offers a range of fieldwork and excursion programs for primary and secondary schools where students can gain a hands-on experience, collect data, and explore coastal and marine environments.
The Marine Discovery Centre also strives to have as little impact on the environment as possible, promoting initiatives such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting, efficient LED lighting, building insulation and natural ventilation.
They reuse cardboard and clean waste for their activities and displays.
Another ECO Certified Destination in the Central Coast region is Iris Lodge Alpacas in Jilliby that offers visitors the chance to get up close and personal with some alpacas and to connect with nature.
Owner of Iris Lodge Alpacas, Sean Hooper said his business was ECO Certified in July 2020.
“We were the fastest business to achieve ECO Certification and we did it in two weeks… normally it takes nine to 12 months.
“We live and breathe the environment.
“We have planted over 12,000 trees and grasses specifically to aid the endangered swift parrot and the regent honeyeater and by doing this we’ve increased the amount of native wildlife on our property.
“You also hear about people saying they want to be carbon neutral, we’re carbon negative.
“We offset far more carbon than we produce.
“We have a huge amount of solar panels, we have a green waste recycling facility and we do not draw on any of the local water catchment.
“In fact, we have actually spent a huge amount of money with us and Council improving the water catchment by reducing erosion and runoff.
“We live and breathe the environment… the environment comes first and everything we do, we have minimal waste coming off this property.
“At Iris Lodge Alpacas we do a breakfast with our alpacas and that’s at 8:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, public holidays and through the school holidays we do our alpaca meet and greets through the week where people just spend some time with our alpacas, hand feedling them and on the weekends, we do an afternoon farm visit where we spend time with our alpacas, our sheep and our cows.
“We also do Kids to Farms, it’s part of the national curriculum that all school children have to go to a farm twice before they finish primary school.
“We’re one of the largest farms between Sydney and Newcastle.
“The other thing which we’re trying to promote heavily here is inclusive and accessible tourism for people with disabilities.
“I’ve been working really hard to make this property as inclusive and accessible as possible, and we get a lot of people with disabilities coming out here.
“Plus recently we’ve got huge numbers of international visitors coming to visit us from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Since October we’ve had about 15 to 16 thousand visitors come to the farm since the last lockdown ended.
“Probably 10 to 15 per cent of that is now international visitors, 30 percent is from Sydney and the other half is from Newcastle and the Central Coast.
I think eco-tourism is critically important.
“The Queensland Government particularly has a huge focus on it.
“The NSW Government, not so much which is really disappointing.
“I think as time goes on more and more people will choose to go to places that are ECO Certified.
“From my point of view, I wouldn’t be anything but eco-tourism, to me that’s the reward for my commitment to the environment,” Hooper said.
According to Central Coast Council’s Destination Management Plan from 2018-2021, the region saw 4.8 million visitors in 2016-2017, with 70 per cent of these tourists coming for the day.
The report also states just under 61 per cent of domestic visitors came from Sydney, while on the international side, 20 per cent of visitors came from the UK, 16 per cent came from New Zealand.
Visitors from North America have also grown 14.4 per cent compared to 2012.
Breaking down the age demographics, 20 per cent of visitors to the region were aged over 55, while the 35-44 and 45-54 age category brought 18 per cent of the total visitors each.
The report also states that domestic visitors staying overnight brought in $525M to the Central Coast Economy, while domestic visitors coming for the day spent $258M in the 2016-2017 financial year.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Tourists planning their next holiday or day trip can use the Green Travel Guide website to find destinations and activities that are ECO Certified across Australia.
Their featured ECO Certified Destinations include the Central Coast, Port Douglass, Coffs Harbour, and Margaret River.
ECO Certification applicants listed on the Green Travel Guide include the Blue Mountains, East Gippsland, Townsville, Bundaberg, Scenic Rim, Cassowary Coast, Lord Howe Island and Bellingen Shire.
The Green Travel Guide also points users in the direction of ECO experiences including tours, accommodation, attractions, wheelchair accessible places and cultural experiences and some of their highlights are the Byron Bay Dive Centre, Eco Escape in the Snowy Mountains, Bungle Bungle Guided Tours and Sea Kayaking at Jervis Bay.
For businesses looking to become ECO Certified, ECO Tourism Australia has some key objectives outlined on their website that are required to be certified.
These include:
Is the majority of each customers’ activity spent within a natural area or with a focus on natural areas?
Is the prime focus of the product on the presentation of the natural and cultural values of the local area?
Does the product help customers to directly and personally experience nature in a sustainable manner?
More information on how businesses can become ECO Certified can be found on their website.
