Balancing tourism with sustainability

Bruny Island
I'm quite proud of my tourism business. A lot of Bruny Islanders don't really know what we do. If you ask a Bruny Islander they'll probably say 'oh she does some tourism stuff'. And I think that that's great, that I'm not in people's faces. I'm not interfering with their lives at all.

We're bringing people to Bruny Island and we're taking them around the place and around various areas of the world, and we're really trying to minimise our impact. Both on local communities, but also very importantly on the nature that we go to see.  

A large group for me would be 12 people, and we try and minimise the impact wherever we go. For example I would not take people to see eagles nesting, because I'd be terrified of disturbing the eagles and I wouldn't want to live with the consequences of an abandoned nest. 

Noahs Ark Conservation Collection Inala source Inala Website
Noahs Ark Conservation Collection at Inala Nature. Picture source: Inala Nature Website

So we have a lot of principles that we stick to, and I think that also helps with our business. People come on our tours because they know that we're very ethical and that we practise what we preach. 

Also, a lot of the proceeds from the business go into conservation. It's a way for me to raise money to help the Inala Foundation. Whichever way you look at it we try to make positive outcomes wherever we can.

Tourism is a two-edged sword, if you get a lot of people coming to a place because it's so amazing, there’s a risk that they’ll love it to death.

 So we try to have as minimal impact as possible.


Inala Nature Tours
Inala Nature Tours
Inala Nature Tours is based on Bruny Island in Tasmania and operates birding and wildlife tours...

Dr Tonia Cochran
Dr Tonia Cochran
Dr Tonia Cochran is a zoologist, experienced naturalist and owner of Inala Nature Tours.


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