Wildlife Tourism Fighting Extinction

PLEASE NOTE: registration includes the welcome function and exploration of Healesville Sanctuary on Tuesday 27th October, the day before presentations begin.

Many wildlife species are moving ever closer to extinction. Many wild habitats are being lost.

The wrong kind of tourism can add to the problem, and has been rightly criticised on social an other media.

But as more and more tourists travel the world, visiting more national parks, zoos, aquariums, coral reefs and other such places, there is not only a responsibility to be ecologically-sustainable but also an important opportunity to substantially assist the future of wildlife through conservation breeding and rehabilitation, habitat conservation and restoration, anti-poaching watches, funding of local conservation efforts, citizen science and high-quality public education.

This conference is for tour guides, personnel of zoos, wildlife parks, aquaria and ecolodges, conservation managers, NGOs, academic researchers and students, to exchange information and ideas on how wildlife tourism can best assist efforts to avoid loss of more species and wild places throughout the world.

We will be looking not only at the big and the beautiful species, but all of biodiversity and many different approaches, with real-life examples of what has already worked and group discussions on what might work in the future.

A report of the presentations and discussions will be available as a free downloadable pdf from the Wildlife Tourism Australia website after the event.

Our venues include two Australian wildlife sanctuaries with a good track record for breeding threatened species, as well as an online option for those who can't join us in person.

Attending in person if you can will be very rewarding. As well as a tour of our main venue and our mid-conference excursion (both excellent sanctuaries with good records of conservation breeding), there is opportunity for birdwatching in the neighbouring eucalypt forest before the presentations each day, andmany opportunities to explore some beautiful forested mountains and wild coastlines before and after the conference, including a few official but optional pre- and post-conference excursions for delegates.

If you are choosing the online option, the details for joining will be provided to your email no later than two days before the event.

For more details visit https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wildlife-tourism-australia-conference-2026/