Managing Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park: Key Issues and Challenges in Responsible Hospitality and Tourism

In this assignment we will discuss about responsible mangement in hospitaly & tourism and below are the summaries point:- The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is Aboriginal-owned and leased to a director under the Land Rights Act. The management has to preserve and protect the natural resources of the park in collaboration with the Anangu people. The challenge is to maintain the resources and make visitors understand how to use the park responsibly.

Running head: RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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1 Answer to question 1:
1.1 Discussion of the key issues & challenges in managing the Uluru–Kata Tjuta National
Park
1.1.1 Operations:
The Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park is leased to director under the Land Rights Act as
it is Aboriginal owned (Environment.gov.au, 2019).
As per Section 358(2) under EPBC Act, the director is permitted to accept a license or a
sublease which is related to land, provided it relates to management plan (Environment.gov.au,
2019). The lease, also needs from the director a written agreement of Uluru–Kata Tjuta
Aboriginal Land Trust, before accepting any licence or sublease.
As per the lease, the Aboriginals along with the traditional owners, can reside inside the
park at Mutitjulu or any location which is in the management plan, in accordance to:
 Decisions of board, including health, privacy or safety.
 Proper constraints of management plan which reasons in security, privacy, safety or
anything related to the protection of the park.
The Lease states that the Director of National Parks covenants not to transfer, assign,
sublet, part with the possession of, or otherwise dispose of the park or any part thereof without
the consent in writing of the Aboriginal Land Trust and then only in accordance with the
management plan (Environment.gov.au, 2019).
The lease also states that, Aboriginal Land Trust also receives the legal right for
requesting the director for subletting any required or reasonable portion of park, to any relevant

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Aboriginal Organization. While the plan is being prepared, the required or relevant Aboriginal
organization is the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation (MCAC) incorporated under
the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Environment.gov.au, 2019).
Sublease, license or other occupancies requires establishing &maintenance, as per the
proper standards, which includes minimum impacts of park values.
To help acquire Nguraritja interest, formalization of occupation & land utilization is
required as much possible.
1.1.2 Resource
The Anangu people look after the resources of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in
collaboration with Parks Australia. The management has the responsibility to ensure that the
resources, especially the natural resources of the National Park are preserved and protected. With
the increase in the number of visitors in the park each year, maintaining the resources has
become a challenge for both the traditional owners and the Parks Australia management.
With the help of the ecological knowledge possessed by the Anangu people, the Parks
Australia officials manage the vast water resources present in the park. The water resources are
used economically by protecting the soaks and the rock holes and cleaning them. The Tjukurpa
law of the Anangu is mostly followed when it comes to caring for the land’s resources in the
park (Environment.gov.au, 2019). The Australian government has realized the importance and
advantages of the social organization of the Anangu and hence, has developed the strategy not to
interfere into the traditional laws.

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Issues are faced while making the visitors understand the way to use the park’s resources
as per Anangu tradition and history. One such example when the visitors exploited the park
resource could be given of the climbing of the Uluru (Abc.net.au, 2019). The visitors in great
numbers come to the park and climb the Uluru, which is forbidden by the traditional law.
However, the Parks Australia authorities and the government have not prohibited the climb. This
has raised much debate over the years.
The important thing that the management at the National Park must consider is that Uluru
is a sacred place for the Anangu and if climbing it is disrespectful for them, and then the visitors
must not be allowed to do so (Theconversation.com, 2019). The management has taken steps in
this regard, as the climbing has been banned for visitors starting 2019.
Apart from these resources, the management of commercial operations and suppliers also
raise concerns in terms of managing resources. Owing to the massive commercial operations that
take place in the park, substantial effort is devoted in the education of people involved in
commercial activities. This puts strain on the management concerning the safeguard and proper
utilization of the resources of the park.
1.1.3 Brand Image
The National Park is enlisted in the World Heritage Site and hence, it is evident that the
park has become a brand in itself. Uluru is amongst the three most recognizable symbols in
Australia alongside Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef. The shared decision-making of the
Anangu and Parks Australia concerning the maintenance of the brand image involves adherence
to the traditional Tjukurpa law. The authorities have realized the importance of promoting the
park as an intrinsic part of indigenous culture and tradition because it has managed to attract

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increased number of tourists over the past decades. The establishment of the Red Center National
Landscape of Australia demonstrates the recognition of the park as a brand.
The challenge that the park authorities face in maintaining and promoting the brand
image is related to the education of the visitors about the place especially the climbing of the
Uluru. For years, the climbing of the Uluru has been wrongly promoted as the best attraction of
the park that has put the protection of the landscape values of the World Heritage Site in danger.
The authorities at the park find it difficult to educate the tourists regarding the significance of the
Uluru and why it is prohibited to climb.
One of the prime objectives of the park’s inherent strategy is to augment the knowledge
and appreciation of the visitors about behavior that is culturally appropriate. Although the rules
and regulations regarding appropriate behavior in the park have been developed as per the
Anangu perceptions, it often causes confusion to the visitors. To avoid this, fencing has been
done in areas around Uluru’s base to make sure that the visitors do not unintentionally step into
restricted areas.
However, the main challenge is to make the visitors understand why restrictions are there
and why they need to respect these restrictions. The problem arises because the park is jointly
managed and some piranpa or non-Aboriginal employees struggle to comply with the Tjukurpa
law. The tensions amongst the piranpa and Anangu laws cause worry for maintaining the brand
image of the park.
2.2 Answer to question 2:
2.2.1 Key sustainable development principles to manage profit, people and planet

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Every organization whether it is business or not, private or government, prioritizes
sustainable development as its focus. The mission, vision and values of most organizations are
prepared in such a way as to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) listed by the
United Nations. Certain fundamental principles of sustainable development are there that make it
possible for the various sectors to work in harmony with the environment. These principles not
only include the environment but also the people. Adhering to these principles is a challenge in
itself and added to that is the pressure of jointly managed park.
The first principle of sustainable development is intra-generational and inter-generational
harmony. This refers to the focusing on people (Muangasame & McKercher, 2015). In this case,
the National Park has adequate mechanism that gives prominence to the people. The working
hours and shifts of park’s employees have been prepared in such a way that when the Anangu
employees are required to participate in their traditional rituals, the piranpa employees replace
them. Parks Australia acknowledges the fact that Anangu employees have to fulfill their cultural
and traditional duties as well. In order to cope with the unavailability of staff, Parks Australia has
adopted work requirements that do not disadvantage Anangu or affect other responsibilities.
Second principle of sustainable development is to manage resources in a sustainable way.
In this regard, the park management could make additional efforts because the resources within
the park are at times not managed properly (Muangasame & McKercher, 2015). As has been
discussed earlier, the visitors must be given appropriate knowledge about the significance of
adhering to the Anangu culture. The climbing of the Uluru has been one of the most glaring
examples of poor resources management by the park administration. The Anangu culture
prohibits the climbing because numerous people have died attempting the climb and several

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others have been injured. This is against the traditional law of Tjukurpa wherein physically
damaging and life risking behavior is not encouraged.
The third key principle of sustainable development is public participation. Sufficient
access to information concerning the economic and social life, the environment and decision-
making processes is a prerequisite for this principle. The National Park management in this
regard although has been successful in including the piranpa and the Anangu people, more effort
needs to be made concerning the participation of the local people. The joint management of the
park acknowledges the participation of indigenous and non-indigenous workers who share and
exchange cultural values and traditions along with scientific knowledge, helps in sustainable
management. An added effort has to be made to include the local population in contributing
towards the promotion and development of the park in a sustainable manner. This could be done
by encouraging the public to promote the significance of the Anangu culture and the need to
respect it for the benefit of the park and the environment as a whole.
Fourth fundamental principle of sustainable development is sustainable resources
management. As per this principle, the available resources in the environment must be utilized in
such a way that it gives back to the environment (Armenski, Dwyer & Pavluković, 2018). The
water holes, the red stone, and other such flora and fauna at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
are resources that must be conserved for the future generation to enjoy be amazed. The park is
rich in biodiversity and it must be conserved in order to have a sustainable future. The park
authorities especially Anangu make efforts to protect spread and respect the knowledge that they
believe is gained from the park. The visitors could be given sessions on the rich knowledge they
could learn from the rock arts, the water holes and other attractions of the park.

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The fifth principle is social responsibility (Jones, Hillier & Comfort, 2016). The park
authorities have taken care of most of the areas concerning social responsibility, which is
probably the most important principle because it relates to other principles as well. The Tjukurpa
law incorporates behaviors that encourage respect and care for each other. The Anangu consider
themselves “one people” and their ordered relationships possess complex social, economic and
religious responsibilities and rights. The benefit of having such relationship is that it encourages
cooperative strategies. Park operations consider this as important for implementing in the
working schedule. At times, the park remains close for ceremonial purposes thus giving due
respect to the indigenous culture and traditions. One of the chief aspects of work at the park is
the priority given to the elderly people in decision-making. Apart from that, equal and deserving
work division is ensured between men and women thus taking care of another crucial aspect of
social responsibility.
Integration is the fifth sustainable development principle. According to this principle, the
evaluation, elaboration and implementation of sectoral policies and plans, environmental, social
and economic considerations must be made (Picard, 2015). The National Park comes under
hospitality and tourism sector and hence, it abides by the policies and regulations of the sector
along with maintaining its inherent culture. However, in certain aspects, it might face the
challenge to strike a balance between sectoral and cultural requirements. During the days when
the park remains closed for ceremonial purposes, visitors could not enter the park. This is bound
to cause some disruption in the revenues and budgets of the park. The management could prepare
a schedule and make prior advertisements for the visitors. In addition, the management could
prepare some surprises for the visitors like giving discount on entries and so on as compensation

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for the unavailability of the park. In this way, the park management could be able to adhere to
the sector’s policies and regulations without disrupting the cultural and social values.
In the end, it must be stated that the jointly managed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
stands as an example of the way, sustainable development principle need to be incorporated
within the management. The park has managed to fulfill the requirements of the industry while at
the same time kept the Anangu culture and tradition intact. Nonetheless, in areas concerning the
education of visitors regarding the significance of the place and its resources, the park
management must make additional efforts.

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References:
Abc.net.au. (2019). Debate continues over tourists climbing Uluru. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2016/s4675538.htm
Armenski, T., Dwyer, L., & Pavluković, V. (2018). Destination competitiveness: public and
private sector tourism management in Serbia. Journal of Travel Research, 57(3), 384-
398.
Environment.gov.au. (2019), Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Management Plan 2010 – 2020,
Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/f7d3c167-8bd1-
470aa502-ba222067e1ac/files/management-plan.pdf
Environment.gov.au. (2019). Department of the Environment and Energy. Retrieved from
http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/national-parks/uluru-kata-tjuta-national-park/
management-and-conservation/please-dont-climb
Jones, P., Hillier, D., & Comfort, D. (2016). Sustainability in the hospitality industry: Some
personal reflections on corporate challenges and research agendas. International Journal
of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), 36-67.
Muangasame, K., & McKercher, B. (2015). The challenge of implementing sustainable tourism
policy: a 360-degree assessment of Thailand's “7 Greens sustainable tourism
policy”. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(4), 497-516.
Picard, D. (2015). Making ecotourism sustainable: refocusing on economic viability. Lessons
learnt from the “Regional strategic action plan for coastal ecotourism development in the
South Western Indian Ocean”. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(6), 819-837.

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Theconversation.com. (2019). Why we are banning tourists from climbing Uluru. Retrieved from
https://theconversation.com/why-we-are-banning-tourists-from-climbing-uluru-86755