Voices of Bruny: From Ideas to Priorities

• Develop a Tourism Masterplan—shaped and led by the Bruny Island community—grounded in shared guiding principles that protect the island’s natural ecosystems, support local wellbeing and livelihoods, and foster meaningful connections between visitors and place.
• Establish a formal local body e.g. expanding  Bruny Island Community Association (BICA) to independently represent Bruny’s tourism interests—separate from Kingborough Council.
• Build collaboration between local businesses, community groups, and residents—supported by a shared platform like brunyisland.org.au to coordinate efforts and inform visitors.
• Introduce a visitor levy (entry fee) to reinvest in community wellbeing and care for the island—managed by a Trust set up for Bruny Island's future.
• Create a community grant program—managed by a local body such as a Community Trust—and funded by the visitor levy to support local initiatives and priorities.
• Give locals a say in which businesses can operate on the island—and reduce red tape for locally owned small businesses and tourism ventures.
• Foster a culture where tourism operators support Bruny’s infrastructure and essential services as a way of giving back to the island’s future.
• Regulate short-term rentals to keep housing accessible for residents and support a balanced island community today and into the future.
• Introduce a local shuttle/bus service to improve safety, protect wildlife, reduce tourist car traffic, and benefit residents.
• Limit daily visitor numbers (based on agreed capacity targets) and/or introduce a “Day Tripper” fee (paid upon departure) to manage overcrowding and ensure fair contributions to the island.
• Strengthen emergency services to ensure the safety of both locals and visitors, especially during peak tourism periods.
• Develop several shared community hubs where locals can gather, connect, and enjoy informal activities across the island.
• Establish a community-owned space—governed by a social enterprise or Community Trust—to support local life through childcare, arts, markets, events, co-working, workshops, and more.
• Adopt practical circular economy ideas—like reviving the Bruny Co-op and creating shared spaces for composting, repairing, and resource-sharing to reduce waste and strengthen local self-reliance.
• Ensure visitors receive essential information before arrival—including fuel, ATMs, opening hours, things to do, island size, wildlife, gravel roads, and guidance on how to travel responsibly.
• Create a visitor information centre and a network of local info hubs—hosted by businesses and community spaces—and supported by a digital platform to guide responsible travel.
• Incentivise visitors to give back—through a community-managed website or Bruny Island Visitor Facebook page that connects them with volunteer and community projects around the island, with possible rewards such as levy discounts or offers from local businesses and accomodation.
• Create a visitor pledge—shaped by the community—that invites travellers to become stewards of the island by committing to respectful travel that protects nature, supports local communities, and cares for Bruny’s future.
• Co-create a local/community video that guides respectful travel—shared with Tourism Tasmania and other visitor channels to lead the message: "Bruny is Not a Day Trip."
• Educate visitors about wildlife, conservation, and practical steps they can take to reduce their impact and support Bruny’s environment and community—through signage, local guides, digital tools (e.g. a Bruny Island Visitor Facebook page or website), and other community-led initiatives.
• Protect fragile places (e.g. Cloudy Bay Beach) by limiting vehicle access to locals or pre-booked campers—managed through local permits, community-agreed guidelines, and supported by a community ranger program.
• Encourage visitors to stay longer and connect more deeply with the island—for example, through initiatives like an island-wide discount or rewards for stays of 5 days or more.
• Ensure Bruny is accurately represented by those promoting the island — by involving the community in tourism messaging (local voices, values, and lived experience) and collaborating with platforms like Kuno.earth that centre place-based storytelling and local stewardship.
• Enable visitors to contribute to rewilding the island — by donating or taking part in activities like native tree planting, weed removal, and other nature-based carbon capture projects, guided by local conservation groups such as the Bruny Island Environment Network (BIEN) and Inala Nature.
• Work with industries that negatively impact the island to introduce levies or collaborate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects—ensuring they contribute to community priorities and environmental care.
• Ensure visitors and locals learn about the Nuenonne People and Bruny’s Indigenous history—through signage, an art trail, storytelling, and collaboration with Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
• Include Lutruwita/Tasmanian Aboriginal voices in shaping tourism wherever appropriate and possible.
• Celebrate Bruny’s unique identity through art and performance—by supporting creative collaborations, seasonal events, and place-based experiences that help visitors connect more deeply with the island.
• Position Bruny as an eco-conscious destination by phasing out single-use plastics island-wide and encouraging local food culture that phases out farmed salmon from menus in favour of sustainable options.
• Support Bruny’s school and young people through a visitor levy—by funding activities, creative projects, learning resources, and hands-on experiences that connect them to the island’s environment and future opportunities.
• Create a Youth Ranger program to teach Bruny’s young people to care for and share the island—with each other, with visitors, and with schools from beyond the island—through collaboration with Murrayfield Station, National Parks, and local knowledge holders.
• Explore a community-agreed approach to shared access on Bruny Island—allowing respectful walking, biking, and low-impact camping on public and suitable private land, while protecting homes, farms, and sensitive ecosystems.
• Develop a simple website or app to help the community monitor and track tourism’s impact on people, nature, and wellbeing to support better local decision-making.
• Position Bruny as a global leader in regenerative tourism that cares for local people and place — by revisiting efforts to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve as a way to celebrate and protect the island’s living landscapes, vibrant community, and unique way of life.

NOTE: These statements are in no particular order. You can download a PDF of the statements to help you priorities them during the online activity. All findings will be made publicly available by August 2025, and shared with the Bruny Island community and key stakeholders to help drive meaningful change.