New laws allow tourism businesses to operate in NSW wilderness areas
New South Wales national parks are set to receive a boost in tourism numbers following the passing of new laws allowing operators to access wilderness areas across the state.
The National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Visitors and Tourists) Bill, passed on June 8, will now allow tourism businesses to operate “small-scale” developments in the areas, an activity which was previously illegal, reported the Herald Sun.
The areas account for 30 per cent of New South Wales’ national parks and would be protected by strict guidelines including visitor number caps according to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
NPWS deputy director Sally Barnes said the previous Act was open-ended and risked large-scale and inappropriate developments.
She added: “What we want to do is have very low-key appropriate natural-type experiences, unique experiences to national parks.”
Backpacker Operators Association (BOA) of NSW president Katrina Greeves said BOA supports the move to make New South Wales national parks more accessible and enjoyable for independent and adventurous travellers, provided developments are assessed along tight sustainable ecotourism principals.
“By allowing commercial tours to be conducted in wilderness for the first time and to increase the range of low-key tourism experiences and attractions permitted in these parks, this is a commendable step forward to allow operators to sensitively use NSW National Parks and encourage travellers to stay, play and explore regional NSW for longer,” she said.
But secretary of the Far North Coast branch of the National Parks Association said the Bill will “change the whole concept of what a national park is.”
“The whole idea is to have development outside these areas. We are supposed to be protecting national parks, but they will not be protected under this legislation,” he said.
The new Bill aims to increase visitor numbers by 20 per cent by 2016.
By Alice Terlikowski · June 21st, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Comments
23 Jun 10
12:42 pm
The National Parks Assoc rep claims these amendments will ‘change the whole concept of what a National Park is’…well I hope so. The NPA would have no visitation to these areas if it had its way. Surely we are able to maintain control over development while allowing visitors to experience these iconic places. This is a positive move for overseas visitors and perhaps more importantly for our own citizens.
29 Jul 10
1:58 pm
The recent amendments to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act are a mistake. They greatly increase development pressures in national parks and threaten their nature conservation values. National Parks have always been open to anybody wanting to visit them (and Roy Morgan reported 38 million domestic visits to NSW parks in 2008). Wilderness areas are a tiny fraction of the landscape within national parks that are kept free from all development and anybody interested enough to make the effort can visit them. Wilderness areas have a distinctive place in the tourism/recreation spectrum and to suggest that we should take away that difference and make them like other places is foolish and will do little or nothing to improve the fortunes of the tourism industry.
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