Indicator 6.3b: Range and use of recreation/tourism activities available (2026) - Supporting information

This is the Supporting information for Indicator 6.3b, published April 2026.

Modern monitoring of visitors to forests for recreation and tourism is by the collection of ‘mobility data’. Mobility data measures de-identified, aggregated mass movement across geo-locations using pings from mobile phones, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and mobile applications (apps). Some local councils use these data to make resource allocation decisions for the maintenance and upgrade of visitor facilities including, roads, car parks, picnic areas, campgrounds, toilets, sites of interest and signage.

Mobility data also assist local councils in assessing the success and ongoing maintenance of facilities built specifically to attract tourists. Dedicated mountain biking tracks are built at a significant cost to local councils in forested regional areas. These facilities attract many tourists and bring significant economic benefits to some regional areas. This includes money spent on accommodation, and in cafes, restaurants, and shops.

Mobility data are relatively expensive to collect and are generally not publicly available for specific areas.

A table showing the extent or number of sites, events, and facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in multiple-use forests and forests in nature conservation reserves in the Australian Capital Territory, 2020–21

 

A table showing the level of use of recreation and tourism facilities by number of visitors in multiple-use forests and in forests in nature conservation reserves in the Australian Capital Territory, in 2020–21
A table showing the extent or number of sites and facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in multiple-use forests in New South Wales, 2020–21
A table showing the extent or number of sites and facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in multiple-use forests in Victoria, in 2011–12, 2015–16, and 2020–21

 

A table showing the extent or number of sites and facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in forests in nature conservation reserves in Victoria, 2020-21

Further information

Click here for the Key information on Indicator 6.3b: Range and use of recreation/tourism activities available (2026), including:

  • Key points
  • Recreation and tourism activities available in Australia’s public forests
  • Recreation and tourism in public forests, by state and territory
  • Recreation and tourism in forests on private and leasehold land. 

Downloads

This publication (and any material sourced from it) should be attributed as Montreal Process Implementation Group for Australia (MIG) and National Forest Inventory Steering Committee (NFISC) 2026, Indicator 6.3b: Range and use of recreation/tourism activities available, Australia’s State of the Forests Report, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra, April. CC BY 4.0.