National Parks across NSW have recorded their highest ever visitation with 65.5 million visits last financial year – and 37 million of those took place outside Greater Sydney.
For the first time, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Park Visitation Survey included international visitation data, with 72% of overseas tourists to NSW visiting at least one national park, generating 4.6 million visits.
The latest results surpass the previous record of 60 million visits set in 2018, reflecting strong and sustained growth in nature-based tourism.
“NSW’s national parks are among the best in the world, protecting our unique environment while attracting global visitors — with three-quarters of international travellers including a park in their itinerary,” said Minster for Tourism, Steve Kamper.
“They offer great holiday options for families and play a key role in the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 by spreading visitor spending into regional communities and supporting local jobs and businesses.”
Greater Sydney welcomed 28 million visits and the South Coast 7.5 million – both record-breaking figures for the regions.
Nearly 9-in-10 visitors report they were satisfied or very satisfied with their visit.
The survey started in 2008 and is conducted every two years to provide insights into how people use and value national parks, and enable the government to plan for the future. The survey reports on the total number of visits, rather than the number of people who visited parks.
The state’s network of around 900 parks and reserves inject $19.5 billion to the economy and support 62,000 jobs annually.
The NSW Government has invested more than $352 million in national park visitor infrastructure, including new and upgraded trails, campgrounds, lookouts and other visitor facilities.
“National Parks are one of the states most precious public assets and are loved by all,” said Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Penny Sharpe.
“Our national parks are where families make memories, kids get outside and communities welcome visitors.
“Connecting people to nature supports tens of thousands of jobs and drives economic development, especially in regional NSW.
The top 10 most visited parks in the 2024-25 financial year are:
- Blue Mountains National Park – 7.8 million visits
- Royal National Park – 4.9 million visits
- Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park – 4.3 million visits
- Lane Cove National Park – 2.4 million visits
- Kosciuszko National Park – 2.4 million visits
- Sydney Harbour National Park – 2.2 million visits
- Brisbane Water National Park – 2.1 million visits
- Morton National Park – 1.9 million visits
- Bouddi National Park – 1.6 million visits
- Glenrock State Conservation Area – 1.5 million visits
