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Before the era of mass media, the transition from exploration to involvement in a destination was prolonged by the fact that the experiences of allocentric 'explorer' tourists were conveyed to other potential visitors only by word-of-mouth, or through the publication of adventure books that reached only a few readers. Modern technology, however, now means that information about destinations can be
• made accessible through a growing variety of media, including the Internet
• conveyed very rapidly
• updated on a regular basis
• made available to a very large audience
• made available at a cheaper cost due to the economies of scale fostered by the growing audience.
An article in National Geographic Magazine, for example, ensures an audience of 30 or 40 million readers, while the coverage of a visit by a celebrity could reach several hundred million viewers or readers. Adding to this impressive dissemination of information about exploration stage destinations is the proliferation of travel guides and Internet sources that specialise in or incorporate obscure destinations, such as the Lonely Planet series (see page 164). Each Australian regional edition, for example, focuses on exploration stage places in the 'Off the Beaten Track' feature, while the 'Outback Australia' edition concentrates mainly on outback destinations.
Several important issues are raised by these developments. First, these media sources bear an increasing responsibility for accelerating the diffusion of tourism into remote areas such as Arnhem land (Northern Territory) or the Kimberleys (Western Australia), where communities may not want, or be ready for, a higher level of tourist visitation. In other words, these media sources facilitate a rapid transition from exploration to involvement that may not allow the destination sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments, thus increasing the likelihood of a Butler-like progression. The related issue, then, is whether these media sources should bear some responsibility for ensuring that potential visitors are educated about the consequences of their actions within environmentally or culturally sensitive areas.
It is not likely that companies could be forced into such compliance by government, so the more effective approach is to argue that an increasingly green consumer market will appreciate media sources that take the time to address sociocultural and environmental concerns. Considerable weight would be added to this argument if the consumers themselves wrote or e-mailed the media companies to demand the inclusion of such information. Currently, Lonely Planet offers a 'Bush Etiquette' section in certain Australian editions that deals with some of these concerns, but clearly this does not address the issue to the extent that is warranted.
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