Welcome to Country with Gojok and Jangala - Desmond Campbell, our Visitor Economy profile

This month we talk with Desmond Campbell who also has the Aboriginal names of Gojok and Jangala, CEO of Welcome to Country, a national First Nations-led and operated not-for-profit social enterprise that provides an online marketplace for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses in retail, tourism and consulting services to sell and share their products, tourism experiences and other services.

Where are you from? ?I’m a proud Territorian and my connections are the Alawa (Gojok) people of South East Arnhem Land and the Gurindji (Jangala) people.

How long have you worked in the visitor economy? I'm relatively new to the industry, with almost 2 years of experience. However, Welcome to Country was launched in 2019. ??

What do you enjoy most about working in the VE? I enjoy providing the only First Nations-led and -operated marketplace platform in Australia. We support jobs and economic empowerment of First Nations people all across Australia whilst also contributing to the maintenance, protection and revitalisation of the oldest living and continuous cultures and languages in the world. I have to pinch myself, I’m so lucky!

What are you looking forward to and why? I’m looking forward to First Nations tourism operators leading the tourism sector in areas such as sustainable tourism, eco-friendly tourism and other areas such as land and waterways management and maintenance, cultural harvesting, native foods and botanical harvesting and producing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have built up thousands of years of cultural knowledge in all these areas and more and it’s about time the tourism industry and all industries acknowledge and allow the space for us to lead and, in doing so, establish better practices that protect our beautiful country, culture and languages.

THRIVE 2030 has three themes - collaborate, modernise and diversify – can you tell us what you’re doing in these three areas to improve our visitor economy growth, quality and sustainability?

• Collaborate: We are open to collaborating with industry players. Through my role as the CEO, Welcome to Country I am chairing the first-ever First Nations Reference Group of the Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC). The role is to provide advice and direction on how the ATIC awards, programs and operations can be more inclusive of First Nations tourism. Welcome to Country is also collaborating to support the First Nations Tourism Mentoring Program (FNTMP), supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander operators with mentoring in areas of their businesses.
• Modernise: There is something ironic about the world’s oldest cultures and languages modernising the tourism industry here in Australia, but that’s exactly what we are a part of at Welcome to Country. In many ways, we are supporting the capabilities of the industry to have better tourism practices and at the same time supporting the development of First Nation businesses to be in a position to be market-ready. One of the many offerings Welcome to Country provides is small grants for First Nations businesses to have access to interest free finance to invest into their businesses. So far, Welcome to Country has supported Tawali Coffee Roasters, Rainy King Art and Chocolate on Purpose.
• Diversify: Apart from supporting the FNTMP and Chairing ATIC's First Nations Reference Group, we have also partnered with Intrepid Travel to include Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander experiences in their itinerary offerings and just recently partnered with Big Red Group to provide a platform for our First Nations experiences to be on offer to a bigger consumer base.

What’s your best tip, advice, or lesson learned for the visitor economy right now? Welcome to Country has something unique to offer and people want access to this. My biggest tip is to partner with First Nations-led and -operated agencies such as Welcome to Country, but ensure it’s a partnership which supports the impact, self-determination and empowerment of First Nation operators. The visitor economy will be much better for it, and we will build an amazing cultural tourism identity of Australia – one that is ancient and sacred.

How are you innovating to account for your workforce challenges? Welcome to Country has had to downsize considerably. Aside from a small amount of government contract funding, currently, we do not get any funding support. Partnerships has been identified as a key area to still meet the needs of the industry whilst still maintaining impact. We’ve had to review our strategy to reflect the current domestic and global challenges in the tourism industry and more broadly, with a focus on these areas:

·?????? Fundraising: Welcome to Country currently does not receive any funding support from government, NFP sector, philanthropic or corporate. For us to survive we will need to have funding partners to continue the work we do the impact space and work towards implementing a sustainable and independent model.

·?????? Partnerships: Welcome to Country operates in a unique space where we are providing capability development to the industry to be more ready to be First Nations tourism market ready. We can only do this effectively with partnerships.

·?????? Optimise revenue channels: We have a focus to increase our B2B consumer market and continue to deliver and grow in the B2C consumer market whilst reviewing and streamlining operational practices.

·?????? Maintain impact: Welcome to Country is the only national First Nations-led and -operated agency in the tourism sector. As a social enterprise, we want to continue to support positive social impact outcomes with First Nations businesses and communities and ensure we are supporting job creation and economic empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

What essential goes in your suitcase when travelling for business beyond your phone charger? Clothes options. I’ll take 2-3 different options to wear during a conference or meeting based on the weather conditions but importantly the vibe of the meeting. Sometimes a business meeting can be quite casual and relaxed whereas a conference may be more business attire. Taking more options means you can mix/match between attires.

Tell us how you work with First Nations’ people and business? As a First Nations-led and -operated organisation, we proudly work with around 200 businesses all around Australia. We would encourage the opportunity to work and partner with government, NFPs, philanthropic funders, and corporate to continue doing the work we do and grow. We hope these sectors will see our potential and work with us more.

What improvements are you making to ensure your business/activity is more inclusive and accessible for travellers with disability, different language and cultural backgrounds? Welcome to Country has attended a number of informative forums and discussions around inclusivity and we’re in the process of doing an audit on how we can provide a more inclusive marketplace platform. It’s an exciting area we want to be better in and support.

What is your dream/recommended location (where, what specifically and why) in Australia for:

• Hosting a team building event? Crab Claw Island, on the Cox Penninsula, approximately 90 minutes’ drive from Darwin in the NT, provides facilities for you to work and play with your colleagues. You can work during the day in stunning indoor and outdoor facilities and then boat, fish or just chill by the pool and watching a spectacular sunset. Crab Claw Island Beachfront Cabins & Camping
• Holiday with family: Tasmania. Any opportunity to go to Tassie for work I’ll always extend and invite my family to join me. I love the serenity, the peace and quiet the delicious food and wine.
• Sporting or cultural festival: The Barunga Festival which is a small Aboriginal sport (including traditional sports such as spear-throwing), culture, dance, music festival just 80kms outside Katherine in the NT that is put on by the local Aboriginal people. Barunga Fest (barungafestival.com.au)
• Experiencing nature and First Nations’ culture: Definitely the wukalina Walk – Welcome To Country. I did this last year and it was life changing.

You can connect with Desmond Campbell along with our previous VEN profiles including Lauren Cameron of Tasmania's Tourism Industry Council. Quentin Long Co-Founder and Managing Director of Australian Traveller Media, Melissa Brown CEO of the Australian Business Events Association, Felicia Mariani (GAICD) CEO of Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), Jonathan Kobus, PSM and Kareena Arthy of the ACT Government, Jill Abel of the Australian Cruise Association, Elizabeth Hackett chair of the Australian Adventure Tourism (AAT) Group, Dr Elaine C. L. Yang of Griffith Institute for Tourism, Creative Australia's Adrian Collette, Intrepid Travel's Brett Mitchell, Accessible Tourism professional Yasmine Gray of GetAboutAble, IVS survey interviewer Erika Schwarz, TGA - Tour Guides Australia (former) President, Leanne Saward, Rugby great, THRIVE 2030 Implementation Advisory Group member Tim Horan, Ecotourism Australia CEO Elissa Keenan,?NT Visitor Economy Exec Valerie Smith, Founder/Project Lead at the Travel Better Project Emma Pethybridge, SE Asian focused Inbound Tourism Operator Doddy Purwoko, Stone Social Enterprise’s Vanessa Brettell, Vaycayit's Hailey Brown and Lisa McEwan, Hotel Etico Australia's Co-founder and CEO Andrea Comastri, Australian Amusement, Leisure & Recreation Association Inc. GM Kristy Ahrens, Queensland Airports Limited CEO Amelia Evans, Executive Director of the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia Exec Nicola Craddock, Outdoors NSW & ACT CEO Lori Modde, Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari Owner Tony Coppins, Executive Chair, Australian Chamber – Tourism John Hart, Indigenous workforce professional Sharon Ninyette, TAFE business development manager Paula Meyer, TRA tourism survey manager Bode Ten Buuren, regional tourism leader Coralie Bell, accessible tourism operator and advocate James "Buck" McFarlane of Sensory Tourism Australia, international education expert Karyn Kent and Aboriginal tourist operator Juan Walker.

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