Core Project 2.2: On Track™: 4WD Tourism

Demand for off-road experiences in desert Australia is large but we know very little about how desert people can translate the potential of this market into sustainable livelihoods. On Track™ has been underway since 2005. On Track™ examines the potential economic and social benefits of 4WD tourism, as well as understanding the  ressures on the environment, culture and infrastructure of the desert. It looks at safe and responsible four-wheel driving, land access, economic opportunities for Aboriginal communities^{1 2}, changes in travel technologies³, changes in holiday travel patterns, and protection of natural and cultural values⁴. These are issues that are vital to the development of a successful and sustainable desert 4WD tourism market. For a list of research papers, presentations and outputs, go to the On Track reports page.

Outcomes

• Better planning of 4WD tourism through clear descriptions, analysis and ways of representing the flow of vehicles in desert areas.
• Greater potential for remote desert settlements to provide tourism-related products and services, and to support viable tourism.
• Better protection of cultural, social and natural values from the impacts of 4WD tourism.
• More 4WD tourists demonstrating an understanding of safe and responsible driving and sustainable management practices.
• Better coordination of tourism marketing and management between private and public sectors and local, regional, state, national and international interests.

Project components

• Travel patterns of 4WD tourists are analysed using new technology, such as the Visualising Relatively Unpredictable Movements (VRUM™) information model and geographic information system. Maps produced by VRUM™ show where people moved from and to, including their modes of transport and travel paths. VRUM™ helps to deliver a system-wide understanding of 4WD travel in desert areas by describing the travellers, businesses, organisations and communities involved—where people go and why, how they plan their trip, and the importance of the desert as a destination for leisure-based trips.
• The In-Vehicle Information System for Travellers (iOutback™) answers the urgent need for better communication—not just for safety purposes but also to help desert tourism businesses reach their target markets in ways that are more effective than current systems. This is technology that will help desert travellers communicate with each other and with the industry and emergency services.

• Partnerships with industry organisations are leading to a more sophisticated understanding of 4WD travellers’ composition and demographics.

Participants

Dean Carson is a project leader in the DKCRC. He manages a national team of researchers working on a range of projects that aim to create sustainable livelihoods for desert people from the growing 4WD tourism market.

The project’s participants are:

• Charles Darwin University
• Curtin University of Technology
• Direct 4WD
• Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia Tourism
• 4WD-Victoria
• Global Gypsies Pty Ltd
• Government of Western Australia
• HEMA Maps
• James Cook University
• Murdoch University
• Parks NT
• Outback Areas Community Development Trust (SA)
• Tourism Northern Territory
• Tourism Research Australia
• University of South Australia

You can also have a look at what we're doing with Google Maps in the project. 

<sub>Notes
1. Tremblay, P. 2008. Protected areas and development in arid Australia: challenges to
regional tourism. The Rangeland Journal 30 (1): 67–75.
2. Friedel, M & Chewings, V. 2008, Central Australian tourism futures: refining regional
development strategies using a systems approach. DKCRC Working Paper 29.
3. Schmallegger, D & Carson, D. 2007. Reaching the independent traveller: product
distribution issues for Aboriginal tourism enterprises in remote Australia. 3rd International
Conference on Tourism, Athens, July 2007.
4. Schmiechen, J. 2006. Indigenous tourism research agenda: key directions for the future
2005–08. NT Tourism Commission, Sustainable Tourism CRC, Desert Knowledge CRC,
Tropical Savannas CRC & Charles Darwin University.</sub>