Ecotourism Opportunities in Queensland

⁠⁠⁠Overview

Tourism and Events Queensland is seeking to identify and prioritise ecotourism opportunities in Queensland that are globally competitive, aligned with visitor demand, and capable of delivering strong conservation outcomes.

Purpose

This project will provide the government and tourism industry with a set of clear and evidence-based recommendations on where Queensland is best positioned to compete and succeed in ecotourism, and which opportunities should be prioritised to maximise economic, environmental and visitor outcomes.

Scope

The scope includes:

• Independently examining ecotourism opportunities across protected areas and other locations in Queensland, moving beyond policy ambition to establish a practical, market-informed understanding of Queensland's highest-value ecotourism prospects
• Grounding the research, analysis and assessment in a comprehensive understanding of current and emerging visitor demand, both domestic and international
• Grounding the work in an understanding of Queensland's ecotourism advantages, unique natural assets and World Heritage Areas
• Grounding the work in an understanding of leading domestic and international ecotourism development models and case studies
• Grounding the work in an understanding of Queensland's nature conservation, land management, and Native Title frameworks
• Grounding the work in an understanding of other relevant local constraints and enabling policy conditions
• Examining case studies of ecotourism projects that offer comparative learnings for Queensland, including how those projects have responded to and fulfilled evolving visitor demand and market trends
• Examining how the case study projects have strengthened their destination's ecotourism profile and positioning
• Examining how the case study projects have successfully integrated conservation outcomes with high-quality visitor experiences
• Examining how the case study projects have attracted investment from public and private sectors
• Examining how the case study projects have been enabled, incentivised, developed, and scaled over time
• Identifying where Queensland is best placed to compete and succeed in ecotourism, the visitor markets and ecotourism experiences that present the greatest opportunities, and the enabling conditions necessary to support 45 x 45 ecotourism development across the state
• Providing practical, evidence-based insights to guide future policy, planning and investment decisions, while ensuring ecotourism growth aligns with conservation objectives and community expectations

Operational plans, site-specific master plans and detailed business cases are out of scope for this RFP.