Geographical features of K ' gari
Geographical map of K' Gari
Landscapes K' gari has various geographical features such as large vast sand dunes and connections to protected rainforests flourishing with life.
Traditional Owners
The traditional owners of K' gari were the Butchella people, who were given ownership of K' gari in the year of 2014. It was during the fight for Indigenous rights that it was granted and full owner ship was transferred. Their connections to the land were vast and strong as they had been living at the island for over 50,000 years. Over this period they got to know the lands and could navigate and live on it with considerable ease.
Why do people visit the island?
Tourists love to visit this amazing sand island for its beautiful sand dunes, historical significance, and cultures that are evident all around the island. People who come to this island well expect four-wheel driving on many surfaces such as sand, rock and dirt. It is filled with many different foods, and way of life which enhance many people's perspective on how other people may live.
How People Interact with the Island
When tourists go to K' gari they love to do many things such as camp, four-wheel drives, and wholesome interactions with animals in and around the island. These interactions compliment a special bond between the land, human beings and spiritual connections.
Patterns and trends of tourism
When looking at online data, sources show that many different things impact the frequency of tourism. Some factors include social economics of the destination, along with advertising and social media coverage to get people to be able to see it.
Social impacts of tourism
There are many different ways that tourism can impact a community, the social impact of this however can vary depending on different variables such as amount of tourists. With the average amount of tourists visiting k' gari rising, the social benefits may consist of an increase of socialization skills which overall improve the experience of the tourism experience.
Environmental impacts of tourism
A second way for tourism to impact a community is by how they impact the environment. Tourists may come to island expecting to do many different activities such as camping in the wilderness with a nice fire beside them. However, many tourists don't know that the a high percentage of the fires they light, are illegal. Along with this, it is very common for them to leave high amounts of rubbish on the ground when they leave. Once this rubbish accumulates, it gets blown into different areas such as rivers and lakes which can have many different effects on the wildlife such as tricking them into thinking it is food. When eaten, the animals digestive system becomes blocked as it cannot pass through without being dissolved as other food is. Economic impacts of tourism
For the third and final way tourism impacts communities is in economic ways. When tourists visit the island they spend money, they spend a lot of money on things like restaurants and souvenir shops. In turn these businesses are able to expand.
How many people did we survey?
When conducting our investigation we surveyed around 26 people, with only 19 of which being used in the data collection as many of the filled out surveys were incomplete or not done properly.
What percentage of people have vistied K' gari at least once?
When looking at our data it becomes apparent that the percentage of people that have visited K' gari in their life, is quite low. This number comes to only 34.47% of the people surveyed going to K' gari at least once in their life.
Most popular destinations on K' gari
When looking at our data, the answers for where people visited during their stay was a wide variety. The answers that were included was the 75 mile beach, Lake McKenzie, Eli creak, and Lake Wabby. The most popular destination of these options was Lake McKenzie as it is a great place to swim with amazing natural veiws.
Where do people stay on K' gari? When people were asked where they stayed while visiting K' gari, many answers included camping and resorts/hotels. The most common answer was camping, with around 61.42% of people doing so while there.
Importance of cultural experiences When on the island of K' gari, it is important to respect the cultural experiences. These are important because it ties the present with the past and connecting everyone closer with the island's history.
Dominant method of transport
When visiting K' gari, people need a way of transport that will get them in and around the island efficiently. When our data was recorded, many people answered with 4 wheel drive. In fact, our data shows that 66.26% of the people surveyed used a four wheel drive car to get around the island.
Main issues identified
People have different experiences on this island, whether it be beautiful or astounding, many people have similar experiences in tourist populated places. Our data shows that the main problem identified be people were that tourists would do things like illegally light fires, and littering all around the place. This is a negative impact on the community as it creates almost a dump of an amazing place like K' gari. Percentage agreeing that tourism is affecting K' gari
Our data shows that a whopping 80% of the people surveyed saw cases of litter and illegally lit fires on multiple occasions. This is a massive problem, because if it continues then the island will begin to lose the beauty that it holds so close.
How to manage the impact of tourism on K' gari
Throughout the entire world tourism is a massive problem. However, tactics have been implemented in order to stop these problems from happening. A WallStreet journal says, 'tourism is currently generating global backlash'. An example of a place that uses some tactics to keep tourists away from the country is Amsterdam. During the year of 2023 they released an ad named 'Dam, but those days might be on the way out' specifically showing the type of tourist that they want in their country.
Social impact of proposed strategy
The social impact of suggested strategy is that although there will be less tourists to contribute to the overall economy by buying things from stores and spending money on restaurants, the streets will be less cluttered allowing for much cleaner areas and shorter lines for places that are common tourist attractions. This helps as it keeps the flow of things going a decent pace.
Environmental impact With the amount of tourist intake reduced, the amount of illegally lit fires, littering and clutter will leave more room for nature. This will allow it to flourish and create even more of an amazing place for people to visit. With a cleaner environment less time will be spent keeping areas clean. Giving people more time to focus on much more productive jobs or recreational activities they would do.
Economic impact
As the tourists stop flowing in at high volumes, the amount of money spent will drop. While this may not be such a good thing, there also some upsides to it. An example of such is that since less tourists are around, less termpory housing will need to be built in order to give them a place to stay. This means that there will be less spendings on things of such which can give government more money to spend on more needed things. This will also reduce the rate of deforestation of naturally occurring places like forests and beaches.
Prediction of the likely outcome of proposed strategy
The likely outcome of my proposed strategy would be very positive. As K' gari is a very natural place filled with naturally occurring wonders it is important to keep those places alive. The implemented strategy would positively affect the island as with the lower amount of tourists in the area, it will be much easier to keep the place in a nice condition. The amount of housing will be less cluttering, and the economy will still be very successful with the amount of tourists present.