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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Plan for ecologically sustainable tourism operations.
  2. Develop and implement ecologically sustainable tourism operations.
  3. Monitor environmental impact of operations.

Required Skills

This section describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit

The following skills must be assessed as part of this unit

interpretation of environmental legislation and regulation imposed by relevant land management agencies and federal state or territory and local governments

interpretation of industry and ecotourism codes of practice

highlevel communication skills to conduct comprehensive consultation with key stakeholders

critical thinking skills to facilitate rational and logical analysis of cost versus yield and other evaluations associated with planning the establishment of the tourism operation

literacy skills to read and interpret complex material describing environmental regulatory requirements and industry and ecotourism codes of practice

highlevel written literacy skills to develop comprehensive plans for ecologically sustainable tourism operations and operational and customerfocused codes of practice

numeracy skills to perform complex calculations when evaluating cost versus yield

The following knowledge must be assessed as part of this unit

the key characteristics of tourism trends developments and the environmental impact of tourism

the key characteristics of global environmental issues and intricacies of local environmental issues

the intricacies of the social cultural and economic aspects of the local host community

the objectives components and comprehensive details of environmental and local community protection compliance requirements within state territory and local government laws and regulations

the objectives components and comprehensive details of guidance given by industry and ecotourism codes of practice especially that of the Ecotourism Association of Australia

consultative and communication mechanisms commonly used by organisations to deal with sensitive ecological and community issues

the objectives and intricate details of minimal impact techniques

the intricate details of methods of managing tourism impacts

the intricate details of environmental management strategies and practices to acceptably balance ecological sustainability and the economic viability of an operation

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge the range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this TrainingPackage

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the following is essential

ability to strategically plan for establish and operate an ecologically sustainable tourism operation and to monitor any environmental impact

project or work activities conducted over a commercially realistic period of time so that the planning evaluation and monitoring aspects of the operations can be assessed

ability to critically analyse all information that relates to the product development phase

knowledge of the current range of legislation regulations and industry codes and ability to interpret the requirements as they relate to the tourism operation

knowledge of minimal impact and environmental management strategies

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure

that the candidate has accessed a fully equipped industryrealistic office environment using appropriate computers printers information programs and publications currently used in the tourism industry to facilitate the planning and product development processes involved

access to a destination where the ecologically sustainable tourism operation would be established and operated or access to comprehensive and sufficient information about that destination to allow the candidate to plan for strategically establish and operate an ecologically sustainable tourism operation and monitor any environmental impact

access to current regulatory documents distributed by key land management agencies and federal state or territory and local governments such as plain English legislative publications codes and standards outlining environmental regulatory requirements

use of industry ecotourism codes of practice especially that of the Ecotourism Association of Australia

involvement and interaction with a group of people so that consultation with key stakeholders can be achieved

Methods of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess the practical skills and knowledge required to plan and develop ecologically sustainable tourism operations The following examples are appropriate for this unit

review of a completed plan for the tourism operation including analysis of all evaluations that have been conducted

review of codes of practice developed by the candidate

review of environmental impact monitoring reports completed by the candidate and action plans for any required corrective measures

project activities to plan and develop an ecologically sustainable tourism operation in conjunction with industry

project activities to plan and develop an ecologically sustainable tourism operation for a given environmentally sensitive area

case studies to assess the candidates ability to evaluate the development and operation of different tourism operations with differing environmental issues

case studies and projects to assess the candidates ability to improve the ecological sustainability of existing tourism operations

written and oral questioning or interview to test knowledge such as industry codes of conduct environmental regulatory requirements minimal impact techniques and methods of managing tourism impact

review of portfolios of evidence and thirdparty workplace reports of onthejob performance by the candidate

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector workplace and job role is recommended for example

SITTPPDB Research assess and develop tourism products

SITTPPD001B Research, assess and develop tourism products

SITTPPDA Plan and implement minimal impact operations

SITTPPD004A Plan and implement minimal impact operations

SITTPPDA Plan and develop culturally appropriate tourism operations

SITTPPD007A Plan and develop culturally appropriate tourism operations

SITXFINA Prepare and monitor budgets

SITXFIN005A Prepare and monitor budgets.

Assessing employability skills

Employability skills are integral to effective performance in the workplace and are broadly consistent across industry sectors How these skills are applied varies between occupations and qualifications due to the different work functions and contexts

Employability skills embedded in this unit should be assessed holistically with other relevant units that make up the skill set or qualification and in the context of the job role


Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the performance criteria is detailed below.

Range of evaluations prior to establishing the operation may involve:

a complete environmental impact study

a site evaluation

evaluation of the social impact on local communities

evaluation of the operation's ability to comply with industry and ecotourism codes of practice

evaluation of the operation's ability to comply with enironmental and community protection laws.

Methods of managing tourism impact may include:

limits of acceptable change

zoning

exclusion

community consultation and involvement

tourism development plans

scheduling

consideration of optimal weather conditions and seasons

selection of most appropriate transport modes

education

size of operation and group size.

Stakeholders may include:

host community where the operation is to take place

investors

state, territory and local government authorities

land management and protection authorities, such as national parks

consumer representatives

suppliers of environmentally-friendly products.

Negative environmental impacts may include:

disturbance of flora and fauna

physical damage

introduction of exotic and feral species

pollution

waste, energy and consumable demands and issues

visual impacts.