The inclusion of a large kangaroo in the Canberra Region Tourism promotion in the Canberra Daily (1 December 2022) is very welcome. It is wonderful to see the ACT Government is recognising the important role Canberra’s kangaroos play in tourism. Four separate projects by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism found the kangaroo to be one of the world’s best recognised tourism icons and generated positive responses among Americans.

The use of kangaroos in tourism is already widespread, with over 190 tourism enterprises including kangaroo viewing, and with the kangaroo featuring in organised wildlife tourism more frequently than any other type of animal. While 18.4 per cent of international visitors are motivated to visit Australia partly because of its native animals, there are very few who would not come otherwise. Kangaroos and koalas are by far the most popular animals with international visitors. Most visitors who wished to do so, succeeded in seeing kangaroos during their visit, and most expressed high levels of satisfaction with their wildlife experiences.

The most satisfying kangaroo viewing experiences are likely to involve the relatively large, social species of open habitats. However, areas where these species are less likely to be abundant scored poorly in terms of feasibility of tourism.

So how about it ACT Government, please stop using taxpayer money to kill our precious kangaroos every year. Tourism is one significant management option for Australia’s kangaroos, and its potential deserves further investigation.

• R Soxsmith, Kambah

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