As Australia edges towards dismantling its internal border system and learning to ‘live with Covid’, there is growing interest in exactly what that will mean for domestic tourism.
It is well established that the caravanning and camping has boomed during the pandemic, but the question is ‘will that go to a whole new level’ once we have settled in to a ‘new normal’?
Of course, many grey nomads who have seen once-quiet campsites become overcrowded and struggled to get a site at their favourite caravan park will certainly be hoping that the ‘explore your own backyard’ novelty will wear off.
International travel will soon be back on, but will the ‘masses’ immediately head for the departure terminal? Most experts tend to agree that it will take time and, as most states and territories lay out schedules for re-opening their borders, already surging domestic tourism will surge once again.
And that itself raises questions about the strain that will be put in infrastructure in remote areas and on whether certain areas are at risk of being loved to death.
For example, at places like Queensland’s Carnarvon Gorge, visitor numbers have more than doubled this year on what they were back in pre-pandemic 2019.
And the authorities here will be eager to avoid the situation being seen in some of America’s most popular parks; like iconic Yellowstone.
In July alone, there were more than one million visitors there!
Writing in the Guardian newspaper, former US National Park Service ranger, Kim Heacox, painted an alarming picture.
“Bumper to bumper, pandemic-weary people came in search of beauty and open space; shoulder to shoulder, they sought solitude and fresh air,” he said. “And what did they find? Traffic, litter, crowds, noise, oppressive heat and long lines.”
And Mr Heacox felt it was time something was done … and quickly.
He suggested a new directive could prioritise the scenic, historic, cultural and ecological integrity of all parks in. And he felt this could be done, in part, by things like establishing carrying capacities, imposing visitor limits, implementing a national reservation system, and establishing electric-powered public transportation systems.
Don’t know about electric buses but this system in operation at Cradle Mount in Tasmania 7 years ago. Reason given situation was unsafe due to much pedestrian and car traffic.