Planning a Resort along Ecotourism Principles
You are part of a team that has successfully tended to build, develop management strategies and marketing strategies for an ecotourism facility. This facility is to be built in with 150km of the city of Bundaberg.
About the Region
Bundaberg: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_039128.shtml
http://www.bundaberg.org/lifestyle/climate.php
The climate is subtropical and the region enjoys over 280 days of sunshine a year.
·  Spring: September-November 17-28 degrees Celsius
·  Summer: December-February 23-30 degrees Celsius
·  Autumn: March-May 18-28 degrees Celsius
·  Winter: June-August 13-26 degrees Celsius
Tourism Bundaberg:
http://www.bundabergregion.info/
http://bundaberg.qld.gov.au/tourism
http://www.sunzine.net/bundaberg/bundaberg-eco-tourism.html
http://www.tq.com.au/destinations/bundaberg/bundaberg_home.cfm
Planning the Complex
In planning the best practice tourist resort the consulting company needs to consider the features of the built and natural environment that would attract tourists to the resort area and yet ensure that the facility was built and managed along ecological sustainable practices. People need to be attracted to the place to stay as long as possible.
In undertaking the project the group needs to be broken into smaller groups, each with its own brief. These are described below along with a small list of Internet sites. Library books and other resource material should also be relevant. A sample of tourist brochure (or website) may give ideas for the marketing of the complex.
Building Design
·  How many people does the complex cater for?
·  What will the building(s) look like? What type of building design will fit in with the environment?
·  What consideration is given to where paths are placed?
·  What strategies are used to minimise the chance of soil erosion during the wet season?
·  What type of garden is proposed for the complex?
·  How do you plan to, \minimise the effect of tourism on the local plant and animal communities?
·  What materials will be used in the building?
·  What features could assist to make the building comfortable and functional?
·  What features could be installed to maximise the use of natural lighting?
·  How do you attempt to minimise the use of energy for heating, cooling and lighting?
·  Can alternative forms of energy supply be used?
·  Your final report should include some diagrams of the resort complex and how it will look.
Management of the Resort
·  How will the use of energy be minimised in cooling and lighting?
·  How will the use of energy be minimised in other activities such as cooking, clothes washing and drying?
·  How will the use of water be minimised in washing - personal, clothes and dishes?
·  What types of food will you provide? Local, imported, food with minimum packaging?
·  How do you minimise what goes into land fill? It is very expensive to have waste material removed from the site. You do not want to create more land fill than you have to. What items will be reused or recycled? In what ways can you minimise the use of materials such as paper, glass, plastics or cans?
·  How do you stop people from walking off established paths and trampling the vegetation?
·  How do you minimise the effect the tourist have on the local animal communities?
·  What are environmentally friendly ways of communication with clients?
Tour Operations
·  Develop tours and activities for the visitors.
·  What activities can the tourists undertake?
·  What size are your tours?
·  How do you minimise the impact of your tours on the native plants and animals?
·  What type of transport will you use?
·  What foods will you take on trips?
·  How do you minimise the use of paper, plastics, glass and cans?
·  How do you dispose of unwanted food and packaging?
·  Are amenity blocks built at the more popular tour sites?
Education
·  What do you want tourists to know about this area?
·  How do you stop people from souveniring plants and minimising their impact on the animals?
·  How do tourists learn about this beautiful area?
·  What information do you place on signs?
·  Do you undertake different activities for the - school children, pre school children, young people and elderly people?
·  How do you address their different levels of knowledge and interests of the tourists?
Marketing: Develop a brochure/website for the complex
This needs to be word processed and include graphics. You will need to make your information as clear as possible. Potential tourists need to understand what the resort is about without reading too many words, remember a picture says, a 1000 words. The layout of the brochure, style of writing, font style and graphics all help to give an image of what the eco tourist resort is about.
·  What is the name of your ecotourism complex?
·  What unique facilities has the complex to offer the tourist?
·  What is unique about the natural environment?
·  What activities could people who visited undertake?
·  How do people get to the complex?
·  What would a night’s accommodation be?
·  What type of paper do you use to print your brochure?
Where do you do most of your marketing?