Overview
The management of tourism operations in natural and protected areas is an important component of sustainable tourism management. This unit will identify and analyse the impacts of tourism on a wide range of environments including marine parks and rainforest areas. Students will develop a better understanding of key aspects of sustainable environmental management such as ecotourism, wildlife tourism and indigenous issues. The unit also examines legislative frameworks governing interactions between tourism and the environment through environmental accreditation programs.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2018
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluation
Moodle navigation received an average response score of 3.5.
The unit's Moodle site may need some improvements for better navigation.
- critically examine the impacts of tourism on the environment;
- describe and communicate a range of theories and their application to the tourism-environment relationship;
- review and evaluate current issues and challenges of ecotourism, wildlife tourism, protected area management and interactions with Indigenous hosts and local communities;
- appraise and review the role of certification programs and environmental legislation in ensuring tourism activities are ecologically sustainable; and
- plan, develop and evaluate strategies on managing environmental impacts of tourism.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Presentation - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Group Work - 40% | |||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 40% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Presentation - 20% | ||||||||
| 2 - Group Work - 40% | ||||||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
TOUR20020 - Managing Tourism in Natural and Protected Areas does not require a textbook. Topic readings are made available via Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.pabel@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to tourism and the environment
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The environmental impacts of tourism
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Visitor impact management
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ecotourism
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Field trip week
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Tourism in protected areas
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Rainforest tourism
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Tourism and recreation in marine parks
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Wildlife tourism
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Indigenous tourism cases related to natural areas
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Greening tourism
Chapter
Refer to list of readings on Moodle.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Presentation
Length: 15 minutes maximum
The aim of this assessment item is to provide you with the opportunity to apply concepts learned in this unit, and to address specific challenges that a tourism manager operating in a nature-based setting may encounter. You are free to choose the technology (i.e. PPT, Prezi, etc.) for recording your presentation for assessment task 1. There are no limitations on the number of slides. However, you must deliver your presentation within 15 minutes. The last slide should contain a list of sources and/or references that have informed your presentation. There will also be an additional 5 minutes of question time.
Working individually, you are to make a presentation on one of the following topics.
Topic 1: Interpretation is used at many nature-based tourism settings. Review the strengths and weaknesses of environmental interpretation and discuss whether it is effective in changing the environmental attitudes or behaviours of visitors.
Topic 2: Critically analyse the role of ecotourism practices and discuss contemporary issues regarding ecotourism accreditation and certification. Use case studies of ecotourism operators where applicable.
Slides should follow a certain structure:
- Presentation title and student information slide (student name and student number)
- Introduce your chosen topic
- Demonstrate understanding of the relevant theory/key issues
- Provide a well-reasoned conclusion
- Reference list
Marks are awarded based on your ability to discuss, assess and critique your chosen topic. You will also be assessed on your ability to present and on the quality of your submitted Powerpoint/Prezi slides. A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking criteria is provided on Moodle.
This assessment is due in week 6 (Monday, 20.08.2018) and both distance and on-campus students must submit their presentation slides through the Moodle site. Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ similarity score of more than 25% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If there is a substantial similarity score in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your assessment could be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for review.
On-campus students will present their slides to their lecturer/tutor and peers during week 6 (and week 7 if required).
Distance students are required to prepare their slides with voiceover and upload your slides via Moodle.
Week 6 Monday (20 Aug 2018) 3:00 pm AEST
In-class presentation (on-campus students)/Voice over Powerpoint presentation (distance students)
Week 8 Monday (3 Sept 2018)
Presentation content (12 marks)
- Scope and quality of content
- Demonstrated understanding of the relevant theory
- Integration of relevant literature
- Quality of concluding comments
- Integration of reference material
Process – Visual aids (4 marks)
- Clarity and design of slides
- Structure of presentation
- Time management skills
- Innovation and creativity
Process – Presentation skills (4 marks)
- Pace of presentation
- Speech clarity
- Good eye contact
- Professionalism and enthusiasm
- critically examine the impacts of tourism on the environment;
- describe and communicate a range of theories and their application to the tourism-environment relationship;
- review and evaluate current issues and challenges of ecotourism, wildlife tourism, protected area management and interactions with Indigenous hosts and local communities;
- appraise and review the role of certification programs and environmental legislation in ensuring tourism activities are ecologically sustainable; and
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
2 Group Work
Length: 1,500 words
Details: Working in groups of two, this assessment requires you to reflect and evaluate the environmental impacts of an existing tourism operation in a nature-based setting.
- On-campus students: Mossman Gorge (field trip will be at the students' own expense).
- Distance students: select a nature-based tourism attraction in your area.
You are required to examine and evaluate tourism impacts on the natural environment and write a field-trip based report on your observations. During the field-trip you are required to keep a reflective journal to write down:
- Personal observations of environmental tourism impacts on site
- Personal notes from the information provided by the tour guide(s)
The report should be no longer than 1,500 words in length and include the following structure:
- Title page with student information (student name and student ID number)
- Introduction to the tourism setting and any background information
- Detailed review of the environmental impacts from your personal observations
- Present a literature review using theories and concepts related to nature-based tourism utilising at least 10 academic sources
- Make recommendations on how the identified environmental impacts can be minimised
- Write a conclusion that sums up the main points
- Reference list including at least 10 references.
Please note that the word count will be taken from the first word of the introduction. It will not include the title page, references and any tables or appendices (if you have any).
The 10 academic sources should include a combination of scholarly academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals and websites.
Please upload the assessment through the appropriate Moodle submission link in week 8. Each assessment must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file). Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ similarity score of more than 25% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If there is a substantial similarity score in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your assessment could be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for review.
5% will be deducted per late day without an approved extension.
A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking criteria is provided on Moodle.
Week 8 Wednesday (5 Sept 2018) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Wednesday (19 Sept 2018)
Content (24 marks)
- Introduce the tourism setting and any background information
- Detailed review of environmental impacts
- Assess the tourism operator using theories and concepts related to nature-based tourism
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
Organisation of report structure (6 marks)
- Inviting introduction which articulates the purpose of the report
- Sequence of ideas is logical/structure of report
- Good use of headings to guide the reader
Writing style (4 marks)
- Good grasp of standard writing conventions, i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar
- Sentences and paragraphs are well constructed
Referencing (6 marks)
- Evidence of having read relevant literature (at least 10 academic sources)
- APA referencing conventions followed
- critically examine the impacts of tourism on the environment;
- describe and communicate a range of theories and their application to the tourism-environment relationship;
- review and evaluate current issues and challenges of ecotourism, wildlife tourism, protected area management and interactions with Indigenous hosts and local communities;
- appraise and review the role of certification programs and environmental legislation in ensuring tourism activities are ecologically sustainable; and
- plan, develop and evaluate strategies on managing environmental impacts of tourism.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
3 Presentation and Written Assessment
Length: 2,500 words
Details: The final piece of assessment requires you to work individually on a tourism activity impact assessment, and assesses you on the application of concepts covered in the lectures.
The first step is to decide on a tourism activity, i.e. scuba diving, mountain biking, swimming with dolphins, viewing of gorillas, etc. This might be an activity you have personally experienced.
Secondly, consider the impacts of the chosen tourism activity on the natural environment.
Thirdly, you are then to research and review the academic literature, codes of conduct and relevant environmental legislation. Critically examine these sources and make suggestions as to how the positive environmental impacts of the chosen tourism activity can be enhanced and the negative environmental impacts can be minimised.
The argument you present in this assessment requires theoretical support from a minimum of 10 academic sources.
The report should be no longer than 2,500 words and include the following structure:
- Title page with student name and student number
- Table of contents
- Introduction to the tourism activity and description of its nature-based environment
- Detailed review of the environmental impacts of the chosen tourism activity
- Application of relevant visitor impact management theory
- Theoretical support from at least 10 academic sources
- Make recommendations on how the identified environmental impacts can be minimized
- Write conclusion that sums up the main points
- Reference list.
Please note that the word count will be taken from the first word of the introduction. It will not include the title page, table of contents, references and any tables or appendices (if you have any).
The 10 academic sources should include a combination of scholarly academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals and websites.
5% will be deducted per late day without an approved extension.
Please upload the assessment through the appropriate Moodle submission link in week 12. Each assessment must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file). Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ similarity score of more than 25% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If there is a substantial similarity score in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your assessment could be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for review.
A brief marking criteria is provided below. A more detailed marking criteria sheet is provided on Moodle.
Week 12 Wednesday (3 Oct 2018) 5:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Wednesday (17 Oct 2018)
Content (24 marks)
- Introduce the tourism activity and its natural environment
- Detailed review of environmental impacts
- Explain and apply appropriate visitor impact management theory
- Satisfying conclusion
- Recommendations
Organisation of report structure (6 marks)
- Inviting introduction that articulates the purpose of the report
- Sequence of ideas is logical/structure of report
- Conclusion
- Good use of headings to guide the reader
Writing style (4 marks)
- Good grasp of standard writing conventions, i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar
- Sentences and paragraphs are well constructed
Referencing (6 marks)
- Evidence of having read relevant literature (at least 10 academic sources)
- APA referencing conventions followed
- critically examine the impacts of tourism on the environment;
- describe and communicate a range of theories and their application to the tourism-environment relationship;
- appraise and review the role of certification programs and environmental legislation in ensuring tourism activities are ecologically sustainable; and
- plan, develop and evaluate strategies on managing environmental impacts of tourism.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
