Push to make tourists pay more to visit Tasmania’s national parks

There is one thing the tourism industry and the Greens agree on when it comes to Tasmania’s national parks.

More than 300,000 people visited the Freycinet National Park in 2017-18. Picture: Supplied

THE State Government is considering raising entry fees to national parks for the first time in 10 years, in a bid to boost parks funding on the back of booming tourist numbers.

A spokesman confirmed the Government was considering advice from the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment following a review of park entry fees.

“The Parks and Wildlife Service national park pass fees have remained unchanged since 2009,” the spokesman said.

“Every dollar from the national parks pass system goes directly back into our natural assets – protecting them for generations to come, and providing experiences that match the expectations of visitors and locals alike.”

Both the tourism lobby and the Greens have called on Tasmania’s new parks minister Peter Gutwein to make tourists pay more for entry to the state’s national parks.

TASMANIA NATIONAL PARKS VISITOR NUMBERS BOOMING

However, a Mona-style scheme requiring non-Tasmanians to pay more would fall foul of the Constitution, which prohibits any barrier on trade or tax between states.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO Luke Martin said Tasmanian parks were underfunded and it was time for tourists to pay more.

“We should make visitors pay more to visit our national parks. How do you do that while keeping it affordable for Tasmanians is a problem for government,” Mr Martin said.

Visitor numbers to Tasmanian national parks continue to break records.

In 2017-18, around 310,000 people visited Freycinet, an increase of 6 per cent on the previous year, and around 280,000 people visited Cradle Mountain, an increase of 11 per cent.

Kate Cheung and Allen Lee, from Hong Kong, are among the surging numbers of tourists visiting the state’s national parks. Picture: CHRIS CRERAR

Professor Richard Eccleston, of the University of Tasmania’s Institute for the Study of Social Change, said the obvious solution to a lack of funds for parks infrastructure was user pays, both in terms of raising the funds and maintaining community support for tourism.

Prof Eccleston said arrival levies and bed taxes worked well in other countries.

“But state-based visitor or bed taxes aren’t an option in Tasmania. Section 92 of the Constitution prevents any barrier to or tax on trade between Australian states so an interstate arrival tax would be unconstitutional,” Professor Eccleston said.

“The [Parks] fee structure already favours local Tasmanians with a two-year pass for $124, only five times a day pass cost of $24, with extremely generous concessions. There is clearly scope to increase parks fees although the revenue raised – even doubling would only raise $5 to $10 million – would be relatively modest compared to the cost of upgrading infrastructure.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said her party had long called for national parks entry fees to be increased for tourists to help fund the protection of the Tasmanian wilderness.

“Visiting Tasmania’s parks is a privilege for which visitors to our beautiful island should pay,” Ms O’Connor said.

“If the Liberals were to increase entry fees, we would expect those funds to flow directly back to the Parks and Wildlife Service.”

An Auditor-General’s report in 2016 found funding for Tasmanian parks was low by national standards, at $12 a hectare compared with a national average of $26 a hectare.