Aboriginal tourism initiative wins national award

• Camping with Custodians wins Public Engagement and Community Planning category
• Imintji campgrounds first of its kind
• Funded by the State Government through Tourism WA

Tourism WA and the Imintji Aboriginal community, which runs the first campground under the Camping with Custodians initiative, have won a major national planning award.

The Camping with Custodians project took home the Public Engagement and Community Planning category at the Planning Institute Australia's 2017 National Awards for Planning Excellence.

The awards recognise outstanding planning and planners who make valuable contributions to the future of our communities across Australia.

Camping with Custodians provides an opportunity for visitors to stay on Aboriginal lands and to engage with locals, resulting in a unique and memorable tourism experience.  In turn, Aboriginal communities benefit through enterprise and employment opportunities.

Imintji, on the western end of the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley, is the first fully serviced commercial campground, built and operated by a remote Aboriginal community under the Camping with Custodians model, featuring 20 campsites and visitor facilities.

In addition to the Imintji site, Camping with Custodians has seen campground infrastructure established at Mimbi, expected to open in June 2017; a site at Violet Valley, south of Warmun community, is underway and; campgrounds are being developed in the Pilbara - the first at Peedamulla Station on the Great Northern Highway near Onslow.

For more information on the Camping with Custodians project, go to the Tourism WA website. For more information on the awards, visit the Planning Institute Australia website

Comments attributed to Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:

"Congratulations to the Imintji community and Tourism WA on this award.

"It is a testament to their excellent engagement and planning processes.

"For participant communities, Camping with Custodians presents the opportunity to generate income and employment and a chance to share country and culture.

"For the visitor, it is the opportunity to stay on Aboriginal land, mixing with and learning from locals, and paying camping fees knowing they stay right there in the community.

"Aboriginal tourism is an important part of the State Government's strategy to increase visitor numbers and tourism-based jobs."

Minister's office - 6552 5600