Forest-based tourism and recreation in the upper and lower North East Regions of NSW

Introduction This paper describes a project undertaken as part of the Comprehensive Regional Assessments of forests in New South Wales. The Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRAs) provide the scientific basis on which the State and Commonwealth Governments will sign Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) for major forest areas of New South Wales. These agreements will determine the future of these forests, balancing conservation with timber industry use to provide an ecologically sustainable use of forest resources. Project objectives This study aims to determine the contribution made by forest-based tourism and recreation to the regional economies of the Upper North-East (UNE) and the Lower North East (UNE) regions of New South Wales . It also attempts to identify the current and future trends in tourism and forest-based tourism in particular. The characteristics of forest-based tourist operators in the two regions are identified as are the areas which are used for tourism and recreation purposes. The sensitivity of forest-based tourism to changes which may occur in land tenure will also be assessed. Finally, the study examines the extent of indigenous use of forests for tourism and recreation purposes.