Regional tourism information centres: a case for community involvement in tourism promotion: an Australian model for Indian consideration

Community participation in regional/rural tourism development has become an established norm in regional Australia. Main tourism development bodies at federal and state levels have taken steps to promote rural tourism in so many imaginative ways. One of them is the voluntary involvement of talented and willing local elders of the community in ma n aging the regional (rural) tourism information centres all across Australia. This paper endeavours to highlight the significance of regional tourism information centres as beacons of diffusing necessary tourist information to the needy visitor and at the same time, increasing the visitation levels gradually in the region concerned.