More and more Aussies ditching phones, social media to visit national parks, surrounding towns

AUSSIES are increasingly ditching their devices and ­exploring nature — thanks in large part, strangely enough, to social media. The Daily Telegraph can reveal there has been a surge in visits to national parks and the towns that surround them.

AUSSIES are increasingly ditching their devices and ­exploring nature — thanks in large part, strangely enough, to social media.

The Daily Telegraph can today reveal a surge in visits to National Parks and the towns around them, with 84 per cent of Aussies ranking them among their top “places to see”.

And many visitors were inspired to explore by seeing other people’s images on ­social media.

NSW is one of the most popular nature destinations.

Blue Mountains was a popular choice for many tourists and Aussies to visit. Picture Tourism New South Wales.

Almost half of Australians had visited the Blue Mountains National Park, and 30 per cent have visited the Royal National Park south of Sydney, a Wotif survey found.

And accommodation ­listings for Maitland, near Werakata National Park, soared 310 per cent in the year to April, while Kat­oomba grew 220 per cent.

While media student Abbey Frazer grew up bushwalking in the Blue Mountains, she said seeing photos on Instagram inspired her to seek  out  new  locations to explore.

Savannah Curnow, 17 and her friend Abbey Frazer 21 from Blackheath love to disconnect by bushwalking. Picture: David Swift

The Blackheath 22-year-old said bushwalking allowed her to disconnect.

“You don’t have any cell service … it’s a great way to completely tune out,” Ms Frazer said.

Parks Australia customer experience expert Steve Wroe said more and more people were heading bush to find peace and quiet.

“We live increasingly busy lives (and) people are feeling this need to disconnect and go on digital detoxes … and reconnect with nature,” Mr Wroe said.

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Parks Australia research found more parents wanted to take kids away from the iPad or gaming device and into the wild.

“It really feeds people’s soul … parents want to give their kids a meaningful and memorable holiday,” Mr Wroe said.

However, he added not everyone was leaving ­devices at home, with many visitors taking phones along to take photos to ­upload to social media.

People tend to ignore their phones with the lack of service at national parks. Picture: Instagram

But they go back on hours later to post that “Instagram-worthy” picture. Picture: Instagram

“People love showing other people how interesting their lives are and national parks are the perfect backdrop,” he said.

Tourism Minister Adam Marshall said nature-based activities were a major drawcard for the state’s tourism.

“With our national parks so popular, the spotlight shines on the regions that surround them driving more heads  on  hotel beds, diners in restaurants and shoppers in boutiques,” Mr Marshall said.

Mr Marshall said more than nine million tourists came to NSW to visit nat­ional parks last year and spent more than $9.5 million while visiting.