Is water an indulgence? What marketing messages say about water use in tourism accommodation in a dryland region

Developing an approach to sustainable use of freshwater in the tourism industry has become increasingly critical, particularly in dryland regions. To date there has been little research into the messages regarding water management that operators of tourism accommodation enterprises in dryland regions present to potential visitors through the marketing of their business. While there is no question that marketing for tourism accommodation is designed to increase the level of occupancy and hence the profitability of each enterprise, there are a range of messages included in the promotion that are designed to have an impact on the decision making process of the potential visitor. Messages regarding freshwater use in that accommodation enterprise may reflect the attitude of that operator to sustainable freshwater management. It may also be a reflection of the type of market sector that the accommodation operator is trying to appeal to in their promotion. After more than ten years of drought, the Grampians and Wimmera Mallee regions make an ideal location for a case study on sustainable freshwater management in the tourism accommodation sector. Over that time there has been limited research to assess the impact of an increasingly water constrained environment on the tourism accommodation sector or on how these enterprises have managed changes to their freshwater resources. The results of a content analysis of promotional media, such as brochures, visitor guides and websites, including text, pictures and logos, are presented in this paper. © 2010 WIT Pres