Would you pay to visit Australia’s most instagrammable Northern Territory spots?
Soon you may well have to.
Australia’s Northern Territory government announced the launch of a pay-to-visit scheme for all interstate and international visitors in 50 of the total 85 national parks and reserves it operates.
Australia’s Northern Territory is home to several world-famous top places to visit for Instagram influencers, such as Uluru, the Devil Marbles Reserve, or other ponds filled with crocodiles, as advertised in Matt Wright’s Netflix Outback Wrangler program in the past years.
Some of the most liked Instagram posts in the Northern Territory in 2021 included Crocodiles in Kakadu Park, Katherine Hot Springs, Litchfield waterfalls, and Mataranka hot springs, with each of these posts hitting more than 10,000 likes.
Northern Territory actors argue that the Parks Pass fee (almost $26 for some hotspots per individual) will help clean and maintain the sites, with a positive outcome on the natural resources, versus the potential danger of over-tourism.
In comparison, only 45 sites out of the 895 National parks charge a fee for motor vehicles in New South Wales. Worldwide, in the US National Parks, only 1 in 4 National Parks applies an entrance fee, from around $5 to $35 for a vehicle. The full list is available on the Northern Territory Government’s website.
According to Sally Egan, Parks and Wildlife Executive Director, the scheme will offer day passes, two-week passes ($75) and open passes ($150). There will also be different fee patterns for individuals, or families.
Mrs Egan highlighted that all revenue from fees would be invested into “the protection, maintenance and safety of the parks” and the creation of new experiences for the visitors. Judging from the surveys conducted before the launch, ‘nothing suggests’, she said, ‘that the park pass will stop visitors from coming to the Northern Territory’.
The government expects that total revenue from the Park Pass fees could reach $7 million.
The traditional owners of the parks will also get a share of the revenue.
Another local actor, Daniel Rochford, Chief Executive for Tourism Central Australia, also spoke in favour of the scheme, as long as revenue is injected back into the natural parks, for example, with additional rangers’ positions, better infrastructure and more services to visitors.
But will the new pay-to-visit scheme actually “kill tourism”, as one Instagram user claims?
Manuel Pampkal, an aboriginal tourism operator for NT, expressed his concern that this additional cost may deter some of the actual visitors, already budgeting for hiking fees, camping & lodging expenses.
“When families come, it costs them a lot of money”, he said, worrying that this extra cost, amid inflation and current economic pressure, may stop some tourists from experiencing the Northern Territory natural beauties, and the aboriginal culture he promotes in his site.
There will be a further 6-month adjusting period for all tourism operators after the scheme’s implementation, 3rd April 2023, giving them plenty of time to review the new prices.
