Online booking system for NT government park fees plan to cost between $2.5m and $5m
A NEW online booking system central to the NT government’s plans to increase national park camping fees and put a price tag on multi-day walks is expected to cost millions
Politics
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A NEW online booking system central to the NT government’s plans to increase national park camping fees and put a price tag on multi-day walks is expected to cost millions, according to a tender expected to be put out this month.
The NT government recently confirmed it would be introducing fees for multi-day walks and increasing the cost of booking a camp site at the Territory’s parks from July 1.
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The NT News can reveal, as per the government’s future tender opportunities, that a contract to provide an online booking and permit system for NT parks and reserves for two years is due to be released this month. The price range of the contract will be between $2.5m and $5m.
The NT News has asked the government if it has decided on a fee schedule, how much consultation is being done, and if analysis has been done to determine how much revenue will be raised from the measure versus the cost of putting the program in place.
No official response has been received.
Tourism Top End chief executive Glen Hingley said he was aware the contract for the online platform was due to be released soon and confirmed the peak body had met with bureaucrats to discuss the new fees in recent weeks.
Mr Hingley said the industry still did not “have a lot of detail”.
“Part of the process in this first round meeting was getting parks people to understand the commercial reality of tourism not just in the Top End but how it works globally,” he said. “We talked about how the tourism industry recognises that the parks of the NT have been woefully underfunded. We are open to finding a model that isn’t just simply a tax on tourism.”
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Opposition parks spokesman Bill Yan said there were “still more questions” surrounding the parks fee issue.
“We’d like to see a detailed business case for this project,” he said.
“How many years will it take for Territorians to pay off this IT system and the government to start making a profit?”
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