EDA Journal Vol 10. No.2 Spring 2017 | Page 25

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY FROM RESOURCES TO TOURISM BY THOMAS DEVITT, ECONOMIST, GEOGRAFIA INTRODUCTION TRANSITION TOWNS As more towns around Australia look for ways to make an economic transition from mining and resources, it is worth considering how it has been done before. This can shed light on successful methods for stimulating new economic activity, much of which will be in tourism. While working on an economic and population modelling study for the town of Jabiru in the Northern Territory (a town planning for the closure of the Ranger Uranium Mine), we recently investigated how 10 different towns around Australia had adapted to the loss (or decline) of resource sector activity. VOL.10 NO.2 2017 | 25