Blue Mountains News

Around 3.8 million domestic visitors came to the Blue Mountains in 2022, which is a 35 per cent increase on the previous year, according to results from the National Visitor Survey released by Tourism Research Australia.

Tourists were also reaching into their pockets, with domestic overnight spending up by 59 per cent and daytrips giving the local economy a $238 million boost (up by 38 per cent on the previous year).

Blue Mountains City Council Mayor Mark Greenhill said, after a period of decline due to COVID and natural disasters, the return of tourists to our region was a promising sign.

“These figures show that tourism is far from declining, it is bouncing back strongly,” Cr Greenhill said.

“Our local businesses have struggled, due to multiple years of disasters. Tourism is the lifeblood of our local economy. It’s great to see visitors returning to our beautiful region.”

Cr Greenhill said the recent implementation of visitor paid parking is a critical part of enabling visitors to contribute to the local economy.

“Recent sensor data from our paid parking meters in Katoomba shows no decline in parking since the introduction of those meters. In fact, it shows a slight increase, although this is early data. It will be interesting to review these figures over time.

“The visitor paid parking scheme will encourage turnover at high demand locations, meaning more visitors can use these parking areas which in turn increases visitation to the surrounding areas.

“Paid parking will also help fund the critically required renewal of services, facilities and infrastructure, including repair of the road network damaged during natural disasters, in the Blue Mountains.

“The rollout of paid parking in the Blue Mountains also means we’ll be able to monitor visitation rates over time.”

Blue Mountains City Council has a number of initiatives aimed at boosting tourism and assisting local businesses.

“We have a significant amount of current and future grant funding to bolster our town centres. For example, there has been considerable investment in the Katoomba Masterplan, with work about to begin on the Civic Place revitalisation,” Cr Greenhill said.

“Council recently achieved ECO Destination Certification for the region, which will lead to more environmentally conscious visitors coming to our region.

“These are visitors who are more likely to stay longer, explore more and in doing so, have a richer, more authentic visitor experience while making a far greater financial and emotional investment in the region.”