Support regional communities with a visit to a NSW national park

NPWS Head Atticus Fleming said national parks are perfectly positioned to support regional economic recovery, with park visitors often relying on surrounding local businesses, including accommodation providers, cafés, pubs, and restaurants, to make their nature-based holidays possible.

"Tourism is the lifeblood of many regional and rural communities. While there are parts of the state where the flood crisis is still unfolding, many of our regional national parks are open and ready to welcome visitors," Mr Fleming said.

"We're hoping to see a surge in park visitation over the summer period, similar to what we saw in 2020, following the bushfires and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions," said Mr Fleming.

Data from the 2020 Parks Visitor Survey, conducted by Roy Morgan Research, showed that in the second half of the year, visitation to national parks broke all-time visitation records with 3 million more visits compared to 2018.

"2020 was an unprecedented time, with bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic impacting families, national parks and businesses across the state," Mr Fleming said.

"Once restrictions lifted, the upswing in visitation to parks in all corners of the state was extraordinary, as people across NSW rallied behind our regional communities and injected their tourism dollars where they were needed most.

"The need is there again this year, so instead of jumping on a plane and travelling interstate or overseas this summer, plan a NSW national parks holiday," Mr Fleming said.

If you are planning a visit to a national park in regional NSW, check the NPWS website for the latest park alerts, closures, and safety messages. For traffic updates and road closures, visit livetraffic.com or download the Live Traffic NSW app. Always follow the directions of emergency service and road crews on the ground.

NPWS has commissioned Roy Morgan Research to undertake a comprehensive parks visitor survey every two years since 2008, with the 2022 survey expected for release in 2023. Visitor surveys have shown a steady increase in visitation, reaching a record 60 million visits in 2018.

The 2020 Parks Visitor Survey, impacted by bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, reported just over 50 million visits to national parks.

The 2020 Park Visitor Survey report is available here: Park visitor survey.