Australia is Among Worst in the World for Expansion of Private Tourism in National Parks, Expert Warns

 

A sustainable tourism expert has warned that Australia’s favourite pastime of camping in national parks is under threat from private tourism encroachment. However the NSW Government has defended its plan to expand on private operators in some of the state’s campgrounds.

Australia has over 600 national parks across the country and their primary purpose is conservation of the country’s unique natural environments, flora, and fauna. They’ve also formed a crucial part of the Australian identity and spending time in Australia’s parks has become a well-loved pastime for the nation.

However, according to Emeritus Professor Ralf Buckley of Queensland’s Griffith University, who’s an international leader in environmental management and sustainable tourism research, political decisions around national parks and protected areas in Australia are increasingly favouring the development of private tourism, to the detriment of conservation and equal public access and benefit of these areas.

Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley

Professor Buckley was the lead author for an article recently published in the npj Biodiversity journal which assessed the political manoeuvres of ‘Big Tourism’ on a global scale to intertwine tourism and conservation.

‘In most countries and cases, private tourism development in public protected areas creates public costs for private profit’, the article states.

However, it’s NSW that has most recently come under fire for its unprecedented supported camping model.

Private Supported Camping in NSW National Parks

In August 2025, NSW National Parks quietly sought expressions of interest from private operators interested in supplying ‘supported camping’ at a selection of 23 popular campgrounds around the state.

This would include the supply and setting up of camping gear, including tents or even caravans, in a selection of campsites at existing campgrounds. Patrons would book these ‘supported camping’ sites through a private operator who’d have six months earlier access to the national parks booking system than the general public.

The NSW Government has stated very little about the cost of these supported camping sites, despite being asked if there will be a cap on the amount operators can charge by NSW’s Shadow Environment Minister, Jacqui Munro.

‘The Minister for the Environment has not been clear at all that there will be any limits to the cost of this privatised camping’, Minister Munro told Central Coast News radio while visiting Putty Beach Campground, one of campgrounds proposed to host supported camping in the near future.

Putty Beach Campground is one of 23 NSW campgrounds that could see supported camping in the near future

‘We’ve not had any idea of whether consultation will occur, because it hasn’t so far. And we think that local people should have a say about how this area is used’, Minister Munro said.

The supported camping model was recently defended by NSW’s Minister for the Central Coast and Minister for Wyong, David Harris, as he claimed that Minister Munro suggested that there was something sinister about the government’s plan.

‘License operators have been part of our national parks for many years, offering experiences… like guided walks, kayaking, First Nations cultural tours’, he told Central Coast News radio.

Minister Harris didn’t acknowledge that the supported camping sites wouldn’t be in addition to exisiting sites that are already booked out well in advance by the general public.

He stated that the program is only expected to generate around $32,000 a year for the state government, which he claimed would go back into maintaining national parks.

‘It’s certainly not about revenue raising’, he said.

The supported camping model is the latest example of an Australian government changing policy to allow for private business to infiltrate public lands and turn a profit under the guise of helping more Australians get outside.

‘Tourism has no inherent right to national parks’, Buckley says. ‘National parks must remain autonomous conservation assets, protected from political and commercial capture, and accessible to the public who fund and value them.’

Eco-Tourism Goals in Queensland

The Queensland government’s Destination 2045 Ecotourism plan aims to make Queensland ‘the world’s leading ecotourism destination’ by opening 45 new ‘eco-tourism experiences’ by 2045.

The plan outline mentions ‘low-impact facilities’ that enhance tourists’ experiences without harming ecosystems and plans to link ecotourism with conservation. However the npj Biodiversity article states that ‘Big Tourism’ often claims that it could contribute to conservation, but ‘consistently failed to do so, despite decades of opportunity’.

According to the article, Big Tourism often deceptively references small-scale, local examples of positive-impact tourism to make the case for commercial tourism in protected areas. However, in reality and on a global scale, the net effect of tourism ecologically is strongly negative.

‘The ecological risks are well documented. Fixed-site tourism developments fragment habitats, damage vegetation, disturb wildlife, and introduce weeds, pathogens, and feral species’, Professor Buckley said.

Professor Buckley explains that these political decisions impact the public’s ability to equally access public lands too.

In recent years, newly developed walking trails around Australia which have been paid for out of the public purse are then being offered up to private companies to turn a profit through limited guided tours.

This includes the soon-to-open Ngaro Track in Queensland’s Whitsundays, in which initial plans saw only guided hikers staying in the new, architecturally-designed, and publicly-paid for campgrounds, while independent walkers were to stay at the less-scenic, existing campgrounds.

Shared hut facilities along the soon-to-open Ngaro Track | Photo courtesy of Tourism Queensland Development

It took public backlash against this planned privatisation to force the Queensland Government to allow all walkers to stay at the new campgrounds. However one company, World Expeditions, still exclusively holds the guiding contract.

‘Park tracks, trails, and much of the camping infrastructure were funded by taxpayers, on the understanding that these landscapes would remain accessible to the public’, Professor Buckley said.

Almost a Decade of Luxury Hiking in Tasmania

In Tasmania, for almost ten years, Tasmania Walking Company (TWC) has been the sole operator of guided walks along the Three Capes Track, one of the island state’s most popular walks.

The trail was initially built by the Tasmanian Government as a hut-to-hut track, with most walkers staying in government-operated hut accommodation. Meanwhile, walkers on the TWC guided trek stay in higher-end luxury huts in the national park, paid for by TWC, creating a two-tier system along the trail.

Munro Cabin along the Three Capes Track | Photo by Jesse Desjardins

‘We provide an alternative for people who may not have the experience nor the physical ability to carry a 20kg backpack on a multi-day adventure’, says Godfrey. ‘That includes older Australians and international visitors unfamiliar with local conditions.’

TWC’s original guiding contract is due to end in October 2027, but with the rise in luxury hiking options around the country since the contract was first signed, all eyes will be on the Tasmanian Government to see if the company’s contract will be renewed and under what conditions.

Professor Buckley warns that once the door of privatisation has been opened, it’s difficult to close it.

‘Even small developments can become bridgeheads for ongoing expansion, creating lasting public costs for private profit’, he explained.

Feature photo by Matt Horspool