What is cultural tourism?
Answer
Visiting places of cultural and historical significance
Explanation
Cultural tourism in Australia is the visiting of places and experiences for the purpose of engaging with the country's Indigenous and post-colonial culture, history, and arts. It is a substantial part of the broader tourism industry, which contributes about 3 per cent of Australian GDP and supports more than 660,000 jobs across the country.
Indigenous cultural tourism is a fast-growing segment. Tourists join walking tours led by Anangu guides at Uluru, kayak with Larrakia elders along the Darwin coast, learn to weave at Tiwi Islands cultural centres, visit Quinkan rock-art galleries near Laura in Far North Queensland, and join Welcome to Country ceremonies before walking the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in Victoria. Major operators are owned and run by Aboriginal corporations, and revenue flows back into community programmes through organisations like Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, owner of Ayers Rock Resort.
Heritage and arts tourism takes visitors to colonial-era sites, cultural festivals, and the country's strong network of public galleries. The Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listing draws visitors to Port Arthur in Tasmania, Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, Hyde Park Barracks, and Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Major cultural festivals like the Sydney Festival in January, the Adelaide Fringe in March, and Melbourne's Comedy Festival, the largest in the southern hemisphere, draw both domestic and international audiences.
Government support for cultural tourism comes through Tourism Australia's marketing programmes, the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia), and the Indigenous Tourism Champions programme. State tourism agencies promote regional cultural circuits, including the Top End cultural drive from Darwin to Kakadu, the Red Centre Way around Uluru, the Great Ocean Road through Gunditjmara country, and the Tasman Peninsula convict trail. Cultural tourism is a way for new citizens, and for long-established Australians, to deepen their understanding of the country they live in.
Why this matters for your test
Cultural tourism is one of the main ways non-Indigenous Australians engage with First Peoples cultures and the country's broader history, and knowing where to start gives new citizens an entry point.
Source: Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond (2024)
