Protected Areas Tourism Watch
Protected Areas Tourism Watch tracks significant commercial tourism proposals, approvals, leases, funding decisions and policy changes affecting national parks and other protected areas across Australia. The aim is to help the public understand what is being proposed, where each project stands and how people can participate in decisions about the future of public protected land.
Current Tourism Watch reports
Regular scans documenting significant commercial tourism proposals, government decisions, funding announcements, consultations and construction activity affecting protected areas across Australia.
Protected Areas Tourism Watch – Tourism 2035
Tourism 2035 helps establish the demand, investment logic and industry conditions within which future tourism developments can become commercially attractive and politically easier to justify.
Protected Areas Tourism Watch – Week Ending 2 August 2026
Consultation opened on plans for 44 Australian Marine Parks, while Freycinet’s revised public works remained outside the commercial threshold.
Protected Areas Tourism Watch – Week Ending 26 July 2026
No qualifying protected-area tourism development emerged, while a Kangaroo Island resort-related road transfer fell outside the report’s scope.
Protected Areas Tourism Watch – Week Ending 19 July 2026
NT park investment proposals, Whitsunday Skyway funding and Springbrook cableway investigations lead this week’s protected areas tourism scan.
Protected Areas Tourism Watch – Week ending 5 July 2026
Purnululu National Park luxury eco-lodge proposal highlights this week’s Protected Areas Tourism Watch, examining commercial tourism in protected areas.
Selected active projects
A small number of significant or continuing developments being followed more closely because they remain under assessment, are changing substantially or may establish an important precedent.
Croajingolong Coastal Wilderness Experience, Victoria
Croajingolong trail and campground designs are progressing, but the final scope, construction timetable and commercial tourism model remain unresolved.
Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre and Escarpment Great Walk, New South Wales
Construction has begun on Dorrigo’s $56.4 million Great Walk, with public huts, rainforest camps and a redesigned visitor centre due by 2028.
Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing, Victoria
Falls to Hotham has been rescoped without roofed huts, but its 52km trail, tent platforms and camps still await federal environmental approval.
Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area visitor development, New South Wales
Gardens of Stone’s $49.5 million visitor program is under construction, with the Pagoda Walk, lookouts, campgrounds and tourism infrastructure progressing.
Great Southern Walk, New South Wales
Great Southern Walk tracks and camps are progressing, while hut locations, the commercial operator and independent walker access remain unresolved.
Halls Island–Lake Malbena tourism development, Tasmania
Lake Malbena’s helicopter-accessed camp remains unresolved, with federal assessment continuing and Tasmania extending its approval deadline to March 2027.
Paluma to Wallaman Falls Trail, Queensland
Paluma to Wallaman Falls Trail remains in planning, with its route, funding, accommodation model and commercial arrangements still unresolved.
South Coast Track Huts Walk, Tasmania
South Coast Track’s six private huts remain an accepted concept, with Intrepid’s new ownership but no public approvals, lease or construction timetable.
Tyndall Ranges Traverse, Tasmania
Tyndall Ranges Traverse planning explores a new World Heritage walking experience in Tasmania’s west, with route, infrastructure and commercial plans yet to be confirmed.
Wangetti Trail, Queensland
Wangetti Trail’s first stage is open, with $31.2 million funding the next section while its northern eco-accommodation model remains unresolved.
Watarrka multi-day walking trail, Northern Territory
Watarrka’s high-end walking trail remains unresolved three years after a project agreement, with no confirmed route, camps, construction or opening date.
Historical project archives
Earlier Keep It Wild Australia reports documenting commercial tourism proposals from 2019 onwards. These pages preserve the proposal as it stood at the time and may include a later status review, but they are not maintained as continuously updated project trackers.
Cooloola Great Walk ecotourism development, Queensland
Queensland abandoned plans for five private eco-camps along the Cooloola Great Walk in 2024. The public walk and existing walkers’ camps remain open.
Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail accommodation proposal, South Australia
Kangaroo Island’s approved wilderness lodges were never built. The guided walk now uses restored Cape du Couedic cottages instead of new national park pods.
Light to Light Walk, New South Wales
The Light to Light Walk opened in 2025 with public campgrounds rather than the originally proposed huts, preserving independent access through Beowa National Park.
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Lodge Walk, Northern Territory
Approved after its 2020 proposal, the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Lodge Walk now offers guided commercial walks and private accommodation inside the national park.



















