Parks Australia has announced it will waive entry fees for some of Australia’s most iconic national parks from now until the end of the year in a bid to boost visitor numbers.
Minister for Tourism, Senator Simon Birmingham said visitor entry fees would be waived for Ulutu-Kata Tijuta, Kakadu and Booderee National Parks.
“Tourism is the lifeblood of the communities in and surrounding these national parks, and it’s absolutely critical that we help to get people back visiting these areas that rely on tourism,” Senator Birmingham said.
“This is just the start of targeted initiatives that we will be backing under the Regional and Community Fund to drive visitation into our tourism regions and support tourism businesses that have been hit the hardest as a result of the coronavirus,” he said.
“These parks are some of Australia’s national treasures where visitors can experience spectacular wildlife and vast landscapes ranging from white sand beaches, to wetlands and the red centre.”
He said that under the lease arrangements for these national parks, which are jointly managed by the Director of National Parks with their Traditional Owners, a percentage of revenue generated from the sale of park entry fees was returned to traditional owners.
“The Australian Government will continue to pay the lease payments to the park’s Traditional Owners,” Senator Birmingham said.
He said the announcement was part of a broader range of tourism stimulus measures, including the Holiday Here this Year campaign, which encouraged Australians to holiday domestically.
“We are encouraging Australians to make the most of this opportunity to have free entry into some our nation’s most spectacular national parks and to start planning their next holiday,” Senator Birmingham said.
