Tourism Policy, Planning and Destination Development
Tourism policy that is well grounded is a critical component for a dynamic and responsive tourism industry. TCA has considerable experience in developing ecotourism plans, as well as destination development plans for government tourism agencies. Tony Charters and Associates advocates strongly for practical, applied polices and plans that can be achieved.
Through a destination development approached, with planning from the travellers' perspective, TCA seeks to be blind to political/jurisdictional boundaries to the greatest feasible extent. TCA has developed assessment tools to assist clients in the process of site, as well as and destination assessment and planning.
Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism
TCA is best known for its pioneering role in ecotourism in Queensland, including projects such as Brisbane Forest Park and Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village on World Heritage listed Fraser Island. It is missions critical to CTA to remaining at the cutting edge of ecotourism trends, innovations and practices. In an era of ever expanding travel destinations and capacity to travel, ecotourism offers destinations the chance to present their unique destinations values in a way that will not only be sustainable, but will also be supported by the host community.
TCA has significant experience in ecolodge planning, development and operations (across a wide range of scales); long range walking trail planning, surveying and assessment; nature-based recreation and also wildlife attractions.
Investment Attraction and Market Development
TCA works with clients to remove barriers to investment – whether that be from a government/regulator side or the investor/developer side. Through its unique skillset across the pubic and private sectors of tourism and conservation, TCA fills a niche in building bridges across these sectors. TCA, together with its highly experienced Associates, are extremely well equipped to provide feasibility assessment advice on investment attraction governance and market development. TCA approaches this through the integration of market research, market matching and the dynamic tools of marketing - particularly social media marketing.
Tourism Industry Conferences and Forums
Tony Charters has conceived and convened numerous conferences and forums aimed at developing the tourism industry. These include:
- Tourism Futures
- Tourism and Events Excellence
- DestinationQ
- Global Eco Asia-Pacific
- SEGRA (Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia)
Tony Charters skill lies in tapping into his extensive network of industry leaders. Tony often brings together sometimes unlikely partners to offer lateral thinking and achieve innovative outcomes.
Certification Schemes, Quality Programs and Tourism Awards
Tony Charters, as President of Ecotourism Australia, launched the Eco-certification program in 1996. This was the World’s first ecotourism certification scheme, as well as an international tourism award winning program with over 1500 certified products. TCA also developed the Climate Action Certification program on behalf of Ecotourism Australia in 2008 – another world first.
As an experienced ecotourism and sustainable tourism practitioner, Tony Charters has been engaged by National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World to undertake sustainability assessments on ecolodges across the globe. He has also been a Finalist Judge and verification assessor for WTTC’s prestigious Tourism for Tomorrow Awards continuously since 2004.
Advocacy and Media Management
TCA has considerable experience in media commentary, as well as the development of media campaigns and issue management. Credibility as a commentator comes from years of experience in ecotourism operations, protected area management and tourism planning and development.
Tony Charters is frequently called upon as an expert witness in planning matters associated with ecotourism and is UN-FAO’s Senior Ecotourism Expert.