Tourism and the Kimberley coastal waterways: environmental and cultural aspects of expedition cruising

The overall objective of this report is to provide an overview of current tourism activities with focus on the expedition cruise industry and to identify some of the key issues to the management of tourism in the area. This information is aimed at providing the foundation towards the development of a tourism plan for the area which should be part of a strategic planning framework for future development affecting the Kimberley coast. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to: identify the environmental and cultural hotspots in the region identify the characteristics of current expedition cruise ship operations; assess environmental/cultural management practices recommend sustainable environmental and cultural management alternatives by offering alternative approaches to managing the sustainability of environmental and cultural assets along the Kimberley coast. A photobook was also used as a tool to disseminate the research outcomes to the Traditional Owners and other project stakeholders.