Western Australia’s Rangelands cover around 87 per cent (2,266,000 sq. km) of the State’s land mass, and 75 per cent of its coastline (Figure 1). Land tenure within this area comprises pastoral leases, freehold, unallocated Crown Land, National Parks, Conservation Reserves, Special Purpose Leases and Aboriginal Reserves and mining leases. This area includes a diverse group of relatively undisturbed ecosystems such as tropical savannahs, woodlands, shrub lands and grasslands. Rangelands extend across low rainfall areas and variable climates, including arid, semi-arid, and some seasonally high rainfall areas and sub-tropic climates in the far north of the State. Many of the State’s iconic landscapes are located within these rangeland areas, and provide Western Australia with unique attractions for marketing and promotions that will attract visitors. While a number of tourism experiences including accommodation, tours and activities operate within this environment, the vast expanse, distances between destinations, and impact of seasonality presents challenges...

An exciting opportunity exists to create an ecotourism product on Miriuwung Gajerrong (MG) Aboriginal traditional lands close to Kununurra in the far north of Western Australia.   Tourism Western Australia (Tourism WA) is seeking interest from suitably qualified and experienced tourism operators with the capacity to develop exciting new visitor experiences in an essentially untouched area of the Kimberley. All interested parties are invited to discuss proposals with Tourism WA by firstly filling out the ‘Investor Response’ at the back of the attached brochure.   Kununurra offers a range of accommodation types for its more than 84,300 annual visitors and is a great launching point for extraordinary Kimberley experiences. A short scenic flight can deliver visitors to the awesome Lake Argyle and on to the World Heritage listed Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles), and the eastern gateway to the Gibb River Road is only 70km to the northeast of the Town....

BACKGROUND: Ecotourism  is a unique  opportunity for Western Australia.  And the Kimberley region is an ideal ecotourism destination as it is one of the world’s last great wilderness areas. Covering approximately nearly 423,000 square kilometres, this region has fewer people per square kilometre than almost any other place on Earth.  Some of the greatest tourism attractions come directly from the enjoyment of the natural environment – beaches, rivers, geological formations, grand forests and a multitude of wildflowers for which Western Australia is famous.  Tourism developments that rely on these environmental features represent an important and growing source of employment and economic return to regional communities. Tourism Western Australia recognised this in 1983 when Hector Ceballos-Lascurain in Mexico City coined the phrase ‘ecotourism.’ He defined it as “travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated areas with the specific object of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery, its wild plants and animals, as well...