Dark sky tourism displays astronomical potential

Stargazing project Astrotourism WA unites pillars of THRIVE 2030 – Australia’s visitor economy strategy – under one glittering canopy.

‘Regional Western Australia is this vast open space dotted with very welcoming, small country towns and low levels of light pollution. That’s what creates its amazing dark night sky,’ says Astrotourism WA founder Carol Redford.

‘Galaxy Girl’ to her stargazing friends, Redford saw the public’s love of WA night skies when she ran an observatory north of Perth. Now she has helped create an astrotourism trail through 17 regional towns.

Tourism Western Australia also has plans to make the state a stargazing destination. Before the total solar eclipse over the state’s Exmouth region in April 2023, the agency did some research. Then it published a guide to developing a dark sky experience to ‘reach a new and exciting market segment for tourism’.

Diversification of visitor experiences

Tourism WA calls dark sky tourism a niche market yet says it’s an underrated one with potential. Of interstate and intrastate visitors, 89% show moderate to high interest in travelling to stargaze. It’s more than stars that dark sky tourists come to see. Comets, meteor showers, the aurora australis and other astral events all create excitement.

‘Viewing wildlife at night and dinner under the stars are 2 popular associated activities,’ says Tourism WA Managing Director Anneke Brown.

‘Dark sky tourism in WA can include glamping or outback station stays, particularly in the North West,’ she adds.

Leading WA astrophotographer Michael Goh agrees it’s a ‘fertile’ market. Tens of thousands of Western Australians belong to astrophotography groups on social media, he says. ‘Cameras are getting better and better. More recent phone models can actually photograph the Milky Way. That helps push up interest in the night sky.’

The overseas market is equally promising. The Milky Way sits higher in Southern Hemisphere skies than in northern vistas. In winter, it can stretch overhead from horizon to horizon. ‘I've been with Japanese and European visitors who’ve been so excited to see the Milky Way that some are moved to tears,’ says Redford.

A sustainable approach to tourism

In one Astrotowns update, Redford lists ways astrotourism meets 7 goals of the Australian Government’s National Sustainability Framework for the Visitor Economy. The Astrotourism project’s focus on reducing light pollution is just one. Promoting responsible visitor behaviour is another.

WA had probably the world’s best view of the April 2023 eclipse. More than 15,000 visitors travelled to the state’s remote Exmouth region for it. Yet, says Exmouth shire’s coordinator of communications Sandra Flint, these crowds had a light footprint.

‘Astrotourists are really very ecologically minded,’ she says. ‘For them, it’s a natural phenomenon they are visiting, and they seem interested to leave a place as they found it.’

That doesn’t mean dark sky tourism is all about budget travel, Redford says. Some travellers camp out under the stars. However, others travelling long-haul with expensive cameras and telescopes look for luxury lodgings. Dark sky tourists of all types often look to spend money on side activities.

A tourism experience ideal for regional areas

By its nature, dark sky tourism is perfectly suited for the regions. ‘The smaller the town, the darker the night sky,’ says Vin Fordham Lamont, a shire CEO involved in the astrotourism towns project in WA’s Mid West and Wheatbelt regions.

When first approached, some astrotourism towns were sceptical to hear they had a major tourist attraction overhead, Redford recalls. However, since joining the project they have realised the potential. Many of the towns have:

• bought binoculars and telescopes
• installed small concrete viewing platforms
• erected ‘stargazing for beginners’ signs with maps of the night skies.

Stargazing events rotate through the towns, putting a spotlight on each. In astrotourism town Gascoyne Junction, they’ve found that these events – and dark sky tourism generally – encourage tourists to stay longer.

The town sits in Upper Gascoyne shire in WA’s sparsely populated northwest, the gateway to the Mount Augustus and Kennedy Range national parks. With up to 30,000 hikers, grey nomads, families and international tourists passing through annually, the shire has hosted 5 stargazing events in the past year.

‘We’ve certainly had people scheduling their holidays around these events,’ says Ainsley Hardie, the shire’s tourism and community development officer. ‘It’s a small but gradually growing number.’ The shire plans to cement its stargazing reputation with DarkSky International accreditation.

A Milky Way ‘rainbow’ in rural WA. The head of the ‘Emu in the Sky’ in First Nations astronomy is around 2 o’clock in the arc. Image: © facebook.com/viratshahphotography

Sharing First Nations stories of the night sky

At an early Astrotourism WA school visit, an excited Indigenous pupil told Redford they were off to the library to read about the constellations. ‘I immediately thought it would be Western science and Roman and Greek mythology they would be reading. I thought we needed Aboriginal cultural stories on every library shelf in regional WA,’ says Redford.

So now Astrotourism WA pairs Western science with local First Nations perspectives on the night sky. It has helped create planispheres, or star charts, of Aboriginal constellations. One example shows the Weitj/‘Emu in the Sky’ constellation as described by the Yued people from the Wheatbelt region north of Perth.

The project also works with First Nations stargazing tour guides. Rennee Turner, owner of Wooramulla Eco Cultural Journeys in Carnarvon, shares creation stories from the Yinggarda people under nearby Gascoyne skies. These include the story of the ‘two brothers’ seen in the Western constellation of Orion. 

The night sky Turner shows visitors is the same her ancestors have used for tens of thousands of years to navigate and forecast seasons. ‘Being able to tell our stories is everything. And it’s our unique selling point, our point of difference,’ she says.

This is something customers from all around Australia – and from as far away as Canada, Estonia and South Korea – have appreciated. After the April 2023 eclipse, Turner’s bookings have increased by some 500%.

Stars across Australia

Western Australia has some advantages in dark sky tourism. The state’s dry climate keeps its night skies especially clear. It has a growing space industry, creating interest in science. The state’s astrotourism towns and others are planning regular dark sky festivals. Before 2038, the state will see another 3 total solar eclipses.

However, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales also have dark sky reserves, sanctuaries or communities. Plentiful auroras australis recently, as the sun has reached solar maximum, have captured public interest.

Even without buying telescopes and training guides, Redford has an entry-level tip for accommodation owners in dark sky regions. Put a sign in rooms saying: ‘Don’t forget to do some stargazing tonight’. Add to this a hyperlink or QR code where guests can access a local sky map.

‘That's all you have to do,’ she says, ‘... maybe with a sachet of hot chocolate’.