Tourism Australia and Discover Aboriginal Experiences (DAE) are launching an Indigenous place-based guide for travellers.
The guide is the first of its kind and was developed in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
As such, it gives travellers a new way to see Australia through the lens of the world’s oldest living cultures.
Many of the experiences listed are part of the DAE collective, which brings together more than 200 Indigenous-led tourism offerings across the country.
Part of Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia programme, DAE showcases the best of Aboriginal tourism: experiences that are powerful, personal, and deeply memorable.
According to DAE executive officer Nicole Mitchell: “This new guide encourages visitors to Australia to learn about the nation’s shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation, particularly regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
Australia in the eyes of its native peoples
The guide is an Indigenous-led reintroduction to eleven of Australia’s key destinations and highlights stories and cultural experiences in places including Sydney / Warrane, Melbourne / Narrm, Hobart / nipaluna, and the Daintree Rainforest / Kaba Kada, in Queensland.
The guide weaves together 60,000 years of cultural knowledge with modern travel experiences including guided city walking tours, ancient rock art visits, exploring Indigenous-owned galleries and immersive culinary experiences.
Through this unique approach, travellers are invited to see Australia through the stories that have shaped it for tens of thousands of years.
In each locale, the guide shares the traditional name, its Indigenous peoples and how to fully immerse in Indigenous culture as well as its creation story, and flora and fauna.
For Cairns, in Far North Queensland, Gimuy (pronounced gee-moy), travellers learn How to say G’Day: Goorin boongun (pronounced goo-rin boon-un).
There is also advice on how to buy Indigenous art, ethically, explore the Great Barrier Reef with indigenous sea rangers and dine on native produce.
A timely development
The guide comes at a time of strong global interest in Indigenous-led travel.
More visitors are seeking authentic, immersive experiences that connect them to Country, culture, and community.
Over the past ten years interest in Indigenous Activities by all International Visitors has risen by 60 percent from 685,028 to 1,099,458.
