Indigenous Cultural Tourism | Robert Taylor, A. Prof Michael Volgger

Learn how the peak body for Aboriginal tourism in WA is leading the way in sharing the cultures and knowledges of First Nations Peoples.

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Robert Taylor, CEO of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC) and Michael Volgger, Co-Director of the Curtin Tourism Research Cluster. Together, they discuss ways to expand Indigenous cultural tourism in Australia, including looking at the Fitzroy Valley in the Kimberley region as a case study.

• WAITOC leads the way in WA’s Indigenous tourism industry [02:46]
• Martuwarra Fitzroy River can create A$30million in tourism income [05:10]
• Indigenous tourism supports reconciliation [07:30]
• Maintaining culture means maintaining country [13:33]
• Capacity building for tourism operators [18:36]
• Indigenous cultural tourism in New Zealand [20:19]
• Cultural tourism beyond the dollar value [27:55]
• Plans for a national Aboriginal tourism organisation [39:29]

Learn more

Assessing tourism potentials in the Fitzroy Valley

Strong support to protect the the Martuwarra Fitzroy River

WAITOC website

Connect with our guests

Robert Taylor is the CEO of the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC). WAITOC’s goal is to present WA as the leading destination in Australia for authentic Aboriginal tourism experiences.

Prior to WAITOC, Taylor spent 30 years working in the tourism, hospitality, recreation and manufacturing industries in Perth, Margaret River, Busselton, Karratha and Mandurah. 

Taylor is of Nhanda Yamiji descent, the Nhanda people being the traditional custodians of the land between Geraldton and the Murchison River in Western Australia’s Midwest region.

Robert Taylor’s LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor Michael Volgger is the Co-Director of the Curtin Tourism Research Cluster, and an Associate Professor and research supervisor within Curtin Business School. He is also an editor for the Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research series and an associate editor for the Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism journal.

Volgger’s areas of expertise include product development and innovation in tourism, tourism destination governance, sustainable consumer behaviour, and corporate social responsibility in hospitality.

Michael Volgger’s Curtin staff profile

Michael Volgger’s LinkedIn profile

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Transcript

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Team

Host: Sarah Taillier

Content creators: Daniel Jauk and Zoe Taylor 
Prodcuer & Recordist: Annabelle Fouchard

First Nations Acknowledgement

Curtin University acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which Curtin Perth is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation, and on Curtin Kalgoorlie, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields; and the First Nations peoples on all Curtin locations.

Music

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