Hikes for park pass
NATIONAL Parks entry fees are set to change for the first time in a decade, becoming more affordable for regular visitors but more expensive for short-term visitors.
From May next year park fees per person for a day pass will increase from $12 to $20. FULL REPORT PAGE 6
NATIONAL Parks entry fees are set to change for the first time in a decade, becoming more affordable for regular visitors but more expensive for short-term visitors.
As revealed in the Mercury last month, the Government has adopted the advice of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment to review park fees in a bid to boost parks funding on the back of the tourism boom.
From May next year, park fees per person for a day pass will increase from $12 to $20, while an eight-week holiday pass will increase from $30 to $40, Environment Minister Peter Gutwein said yesterday.
“I’m announcing for the first time in a decade park entry fees will be modernised,” Mr Gutwein said in Question Time yesterday. He said the new fees would “keep the costs for visiting a national park affordable for people who regularly visit our parks while ensuring that short-stay visitors pay a little more”.
All annual passes into Tasmanian National Parks will decrease by 6.25 per cent. A new annual pass currently costs $96 per vehicle to access all parks.
Last year there were about 1.5 million visitors to the state’s national parks.
Tasmania’s peak tourism body has welcomed the announcement.
“Compared to the cost of entering national parks around Australia and other popular Tasmanian visitor attractions, the cost of entering Tasmania’s national parks has been kept too low for too long,” Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said.
“If the Government has found a way to increase the entry fees for holiday-makers while passing on a savings for Tasmanians purchasing our annual parks passes, then that’s a healthy dividend for Tasmanians from a growing visitor economy.”
Mr Gutwein said the changes should generate $3 million in additional revenue each year, to be reinvested into infrastructure, maintenance and service delivery in the state’s national parks.