The Pricing and Management of Walking Tracks in Tasmania

Walking tracks are an important component of the recreational use of Australian national parks. This paper applies economic theory to the issues associated with the management of walking tracks in Tasmania and, by implication, the rest of Australia. An economic model is developed to assess the implications of three policy regimes (pricing, quotas and unrestricted access) for the management of walking tracks. The model is calibrated to approximate (as best as practicable) the most popular of Tasmanian walking tracks, the Overland Track.