Fishing the 'big rivers' in Australia's Northern territory: market diversification for the Daly River.

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter is concerned with the fishing assets (including rivers, estuaries, lakes and billabongs) of the Northern Territory (Australia) and how their use might reflect on innovation in the tourism destination system. Specifically, the chapter examines the level of diversity in the fishing tourism marketplace in the Northern Territory. The research considers two aspects: the first is the diversity of trips taken to the Northern Territory which feature fishing as an activity (trip patterns); and the second is the industry response to the market in terms of the structure of the product mix and marketing strategies (industrial organization) of one of the big-river fishing destinations in the Territory's Top End. Data from the Northern Territory Travel Monitor (2000-04) are used to describe trip patterns and a case study of the Daly River is used to analyse industrial organization. What is evident from the case study of the Daly River is a lack of diversity in fishing tourism product offerings, and a consequent lack of diversity in the profile of consumers. The Daly River region faces a number of challenges in achieving the characteristics claimed as necessary for systemic innovation.