Abstract:
The rational. for private sector
Involvement In native based tourism lies at
base , In the profit motive. The subject of
this paper, Earth sanctuaries Limited (ESL),
e developer and operator of wildlife
sanctuaries in Australia, In one sense is no
different In this regard. Where ESL does
differ, however, from conventional nature
based tourism enterprises, is that profit is
not viewed as an end In itself. but as a
means of progressing its mission of
conserving Australia's unique biodiversity. This paper traces ESL's development from
one Individual's desire to preserve
Australian wildlife, to a listed multi-million dollar enterprise that is Intent on using
tourism to support its core business of
conservation. The paper begins by
overviewing ESL's organisational history,
mission, objectives and guiding business
strategy. It then moves on to examine the
results flowing from ESL's activities to date,
specifically the extent to which It has been
successful In achieving Its conservation
objectives. The challenges that ESL faces
as It seeks to use tourism to support its
conservation agenda are then discussed.
The paper concludes that ESL's model of
nature conservation may require further
adaptation to the commercial realities of
tourism, and that tourism alone is unlikely
to provide ESL with the basis for
progressing Its 40 year mission of establishing sanctuaries In each of
Australia's 80 habitat zones.
