The Australian government is set to spend AUD $1 million on training indigenous people to welcome tourists, it announced this week.

Speaking at the inaugural Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference in Darwin, a tourism government official told visitors that he wanted indigenous heritage and employment to become part of every tourism experience in the country, describing it as "a very important component in attracting people to Australia."

The new tourism academy will be set up at Ayers Rock, a globally famous destination which was handed back to indigenous people last year as part of a deal seen as vitally important for the Uluru indigenous community.

Australia is working to produce a framework for developing indigenous tourism, which it hopes can increase visitor numbers from Europe, provide employment and help to reduce social problems.

As part of its strategy, it is looking to New Zealand, widely regarded as a success story in indigenous tourism thanks to the high-profile Maori ventures which have become a feature of many visits to the country -- and now progressing even further, with the indigenous communities beginning to take control.

"People want to come to New Zealand to sample Maori culture with Maori," New Zealand Maori Tourism's Butch Bradley told Radio Australia this week.

"If you look at the South Island, the Ngāi Tahu iwe in the South Island pretty much own or are partners in the majority of the major tourism activities on the South Island. On the North Island the Tainui people own hotels, own casinos, own the largest shopping precinct in New Zealand."

"So we're seeing Maori diversify from those traditional tourism offerings, which were culture, song and dance to greater investment."

At the conference, delegates were working to form the "Darwin Declaration on Indigenous Tourism," a document aimed at laying down principles on indigenous tourism development which will be delivered to the UN.