Assessment of natural resources for nature-based tourism: the case of the Central Coast Region of Western Australia

Resources for development of a nature-based tourism industry were identifie d and assessed in the Central Coast Region of Western Australia. The assess ment framework developed used both qualitative and quantitative techniques to establish levels of attraction, accessibility, presence of infrastructur e and the level of environmental degradation. Data were gathered using a ch ecklist approach to quantify characteristics of sites. Resource assessment was completed using matrices with relevant indicators incorporating weighti ng techniques. Sixty-five potential nature-based tourism resource sites wer e identified. The attraction diversity in the Region is high, although the resources were associated with poor accessibility, low levels of tourism in frastructure and moderate levels of environmental degradation. Results from this research were presented to government authorities and incorporated in to the planning process. This paper highlights some of the difficulties ass ociated with establishing objective resource evaluation techniques for natu re-based tourism, as well as key findings from the research. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.