There seems to be a growing trend in tourism where sustainability has become another marketing buzzword. Every second business claims to be eco-friendly, authentic or regenerative. Green leaves appear on logos. Websites are filled with words like responsible, ethical and low impact.
The challenge is that authenticity can’t be printed on a brochure.
It has to be lived.
At Margaret River Discovery Co, sustainability isn’t a department. It isn’t a certification hanging on the wall. It isn’t a clever marketing campaign.
It’s simply the way we choose to do business.
Staying Small Was Never a Limitation. It Was the Plan.
When I started Margaret River Discovery Co in 2008, people often assumed success meant buying another vehicle, employing more guides and carrying more passengers.
I never saw it that way. One guide. One Land Rover. Just six guests.
That simple business model has remained largely unchanged for nearly two decades, despite countless opportunities to expand.
Why?
Because the experience changes when you grow. Conversations become presentations. Relationships become transactions. Guests become numbers.
Instead of chasing scale, I’ve always chosen to chase something far more valuable—connection.
Every person who joins the tour spends an entire day with me. By the end of the afternoon they’re no longer just passengers. We’ve shared stories over coffee, paddled quietly down Wooditjup Bilya, wandered remote sections of the Cape to Cape Track, laughed over lunch in a barrel room and discovered parts of Margaret River most visitors never find.
That simply isn’t something you can mass produce.
Tourism Should Give More Than It Takes. I believe tourism carries a responsibility.
If thousands of people visit a special place every year, that place should be better because they came—not worse.
That philosophy influences hundreds of small decisions every single day. Our lunches are sourced locally from Blue Ginger Fine Foods. Our wines come from Margaret River producers.
Morning coffee supports a local beachfront café that, in turn, benefits from hundreds of our guests returning throughout their holiday after discovering it on tour.
Many guests tell me they book restaurants, wineries, walking trails and attractions based on recommendations they receive during the day. One small recommendation often creates hundreds of dollars of additional spending for another local business.
That’s tourism working exactly as it should. Everyone benefits. Sustainability Is Built Into The Experience. Some sustainability initiatives are obvious.
We have achieved Sustainable Tourism Accreditation, EcoStar Accreditation and participate in the Tourism Emissions Reduction Commitment program. We’ve measured our carbon footprint. We’ve reduced emissions. We’ve removed unnecessary single-use plastics. We recycle. We compost. We source locally wherever possible.
But, in many ways, those are simply the easy bits. The more meaningful part is helping guests understand why this landscape matters.
Throughout the day we talk about the ancient geology that shaped the coastline. We share Wadandi place names with permission and explain the deep cultural connection to Country.
We discuss native wildlife, seasonal changes, regenerative farming, prescribed burning, birdlife, rivers, forests and the delicate balance that makes this corner of Western Australia so extraordinary.
When people understand a place, they care about it. And when people care about somewhere, they help protect it. That’s perhaps the most powerful form of sustainability there is.
Authenticity Can’t Be Outsourced
One of the great privileges of operating a small business is that there is nowhere to hide. Every email. Every booking. Every phone call. Every tour. Every social media post. Every recommendation. It’s all me.
If a guest asks where I eat breakfast, I’ll tell them. If they ask which beach I take my wife to watch whales, I’ll tell them.
If they ask where I’d spend my own money on wine, lunch or coffee, they’ll get an honest answer—not the one that pays the biggest commission.
In fact, we don’t accept commissions from the businesses we visit. That independence matters.
Guests quickly recognise the difference between genuine recommendations and sales pitches. Trust is difficult to earn and incredibly easy to lose.
The +1 Philosophy
Everything we do is guided by one simple principle.
Can we make this just one degree better than the guest expects?
Maybe it’s lending someone a Goretex jacket. Maybe it’s quietly taking photographs they’ll treasure forever. Maybe it’s spending an extra fifteen minutes watching dolphins hunt salmon because nature doesn’t work to an itinerary. Maybe it’s sending personalised recommendations after the tour so guests can make the most of the rest of their holiday. None of these things appear on an itinerary. All of them become memories.
Walking On A Dream
Tourism Western Australia’s Walking On A Dream campaign beautifully captures something we’ve believed for years—that the world’s best travel experiences aren’t measured by how many attractions you tick off.
They’re measured by how they make you feel. Wonder. Curiosity. Stillness. Connection.
Those are the moments guests remember long after they’ve forgotten which winery they visited first. Margaret River isn’t simply somewhere you come to drink wine. It’s somewhere you stand on ancient granite cliffs while whales migrate beneath you. It’s somewhere you paddle quietly through towering forests. It’s somewhere you hear stories stretching back tens of thousands of years. It’s somewhere that changes how you see nature. If we can help create those moments, we’ve done our job.
Looking Forward
Tourism Western Australia’s vision continues to focus on attracting visitors seeking extraordinary, authentic and immersive experiences while protecting the very places that make Western Australia unique.
That vision resonates deeply with our own. The future of tourism isn’t about becoming bigger. It’s about becoming better. Better for visitors. Better for local communities. Better for wildlife. Better for Country. Better for future generations.
After nearly twenty years, I still believe the greatest compliment we receive isn’t another award or another five-star review.
It’s when a guest quietly says:
“That didn’t feel like a tour.”
Exactly.
That was always the idea.
About Margaret River Discovery Tours
Sean Blocksidge is the owner operator of the Margaret River Discovery Company, an avid photographer, blogger and South West WA ambassador. In 2010 he won Western Australian Guide of the Year and his tours have been rated the #1 thing to do in Australia on the Tripadvisor website for the past two years.
