Indigenous Australians Tell You Why You Should Plan Your Next Holiday On Their Ancient Land
Indigenous tour operators say the doors are wide open for you to experience the world’s oldest living culture.
Tourism Australia today launched a multi-million dollar campaign to lure tourists down under using Indigenous Australia as the drawcard.
The campaign is designed to encourage tourists to come and see Australia through the eyes of the traditional owners.
Filmed with several Aboriginal tour operators around the country, Aboriginal Australia: Our Country Is Waiting For You, is a short film co-directed by award winning Aboriginal filmmaker Warwick Thornton. Thornton says tourism is the key to unlocking independent economic development ambitions in the Indigenous community.
"I learned so much about us amazing mob making this film. When I am around the world I can pull this short film out and say this is what black Australia has to offer and it's premium. It's the best you can get."
"You can't compete against 40,000 years of connection to land, culture and story and dance; no one has knowledge like our mob and that's what tourists want."
The cinematic campaign features the diversity of different Aboriginal groups from the ruby red Kimberley coastline to the lush greens of the rainforests in far north Queensland.
Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O'Sullivan, says they're just giving tourists what that've been asking for.
"Australia's Indigenous experiences are a unique and important part of our tourism offering. Currently, 14 per cent of our international visitors participate in an Aboriginal cultural experience during their trip, helping to inject $6.4 billion annually into our visitor economy."
Anna Mendoza / BuzzFeed
1. Mardoowarra River (Fitzroy River) in the Kimberley, Western Australia
Neville Poelina runs Uptuyu Aboriginal Adventures in the Kimberley in Western Australia. Poelina tells visitors to his country how the mighty Fitzroy River was created.
"My river used to be a pool at the first sunrise; this was during our creation time. In the creation time there was only a pool and my ancestral father walked along as a night heron bird and come across this pool and drugged it so that all of his family could eat from this pool."
"They made lots of noise around this pool and the snake came up to the surface to see who was making all that noise. My ancestral father said quick to his sons, quick throw me a spear, and he speared the snake as it was coming out of the water and it reared out of the water and took off up stream. And that's how the Fitzroy river formed."
Anna Mendoza / BuzzFeed
2. Tully, Far North Queensland.
Sonya Jeffrey runs Ingan tours in Tully, far north Queensland. She says the coastline and lush rainforest that bookends her country were created by a mythical creature that united the tribes in the area.
"Half-man, half-eel his name was Jirrigutta so he travelled all the way up from Palm Island all the way up to the tableland to Barren Falls in search of something and along the way he created the mountains, the rivers the oceans."
"The connection we have with him is eel, which is our totem."
Allan Clarke / BuzzFeed
http://ift.tt/1L59kvW Allan Clarke
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