Tourism Policy in Australia's Northern Territory: A Policy Process Analysis of its Tourism Development Masterplan

Abstract

In the past 15 years, the Northern Territory (NT) has become internationally renowned as one of Australia's important tourist regions. Remoteness, vast distances, spectacular scenery, diverse flora and fauna, the sparsely populated outback as well as the unique Aboriginal culture are all part of the tourist image of the NT. With the Northern Territory Tourism Development Masterplan (TDMP), now the foundation of NT tourism policy, the government recognised the need for better strategic planning to further develop and manage the resources which underpin the attractiveness of the Territory as a tourist destination. This paper explores the tourism policy process of the TDMP in greater detail by employing the policy cycle model as a tool for a descriptive analysis which highlights the character of the process and explains the dynamics of the process tourism policy and decision making. The analysis, which also takes into account the specific NT policy environment, reveals a pattern of strong government patronage and the primacy of economic thinking.