BMATA: the tourism oligopoly that ate itself
There once was an outfit dubbed BMATA, which grew out of failed BMLOT, which grew out of BMAA, which grew...
Read MoreWelcome to ‘Mountains Drums‘.
This is Nature Trail’s field blog expressing views and insights about the goings on out in the Blue Mountains great outdoors from our local experiences over decades.
This blog is written mostly by one of our regular Mountains hikers, Flex, plus also our Tour Director Steve’s contribution articles from time to time, as he’s see fit to raise.
We also invite our guests to submit their own article to this blog. Just email us at:
steve[at]naturetrail.com.au
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area covers over a million hectares of native vegetation and is arguably a bushwalker’s paradise of choice.
Yet over more than twenty five years of hiking the Blue Mountains, we continue to observe and read about those accessing the Blue Mountains great outdoors and those managing this World Heritage failing to learn from the wisdom of others before them – the requisite knowledge, skills, experience, preparation and attitude to appreciate and not harm or being harmed.
At Nature Trail we relish the great outdoors and value the Blue Mountains and its magnificent and expansive world heritage region.
But while we embrace the outdoors experience, fun and adventure, we are critical of those who foolishly risk life and limb and who recklessly encourage others to do likewise.
Whilst the Blue Mountains may still be of world heritage value, we do not see world’s best practice nor leadership evolving in outdoor recreation nor in custodial management.
Hardly a week passes without reports of helicopter rescues of injured hikers, canyoners and rockclimbers, of lost hikers, benighted hikers, missing hikers and of deaths by those setting out ignorant or just poorly prepared.
We constantly read reports by locals of the threats of invasive tourism, ugly mass tourism, the dominance of a tourism oligopoly, of poor track conditions and neglected signage, of the underfunded and understaffed National Parks and Wildlife Service.
We observe the disconnect between government authorities delegated with custodial responsibility for protecting and managing the natural values of The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and with tourism providers and consumers.
More recently we’ve observed multiple landslips left neglected for months and years, that then shut down many hiking tracks (as well as critical road and rail access). Government repeatedly allows wildfires to burn, in 2019 left to incinerate 80% of the world heritage area and other ‘National Parks’ so-called throughout New South Wales. Governmental abandonment of its national quarantine responsibilities allowed an imported China Virus Pandemic shut down Blue Mountains tourism and visitation completely for two years (2020-2021).
Each tragic instance/incident is reported in isolation, but as if some freak event, then it’s soon forgotten by the media. No lessons are learned by authorities responsible, no improvements are applied to safety standards or education to visitors/users. So inevitably, similar tragic instances/incidents repeat time and time again.
One purpose of this Mountains Drums blog serves is to share local knowledge and goings on about the Blue Mountains region’s great outdoors to all. Also, it is to highlight management problems, many chronic; and to question why the governmental custodians and managers of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, fail to listen, learn and deliver world best practice leadership.
Our hiking blogger Flex does not hold back. This ‘Mountains Drums‘ blog is intended to be a wake up call to the Blue Mountains community to lift its game and to actively challenge government responsible.
There once was an outfit dubbed BMATA, which grew out of failed BMLOT, which grew out of BMAA, which grew...
Read MoreTwenty years in the Blue Mountains region and I have been planning my own business, even before then. Business planning...
Read MoreBlue Mountains tourism particularly local tour operators such as myself have continued to suffer financial losses from the dearth of...
Read MoreHere we go again... Bushfires lockdown the entire Blue Mountains The widespread bushfire 'mega-blaze' disaster of Christmas 2019 that was...
Read MoreFor the past five years I have invested in a start-up tour operation based in Katoomba in the heart of...
Read MoreTwo bushwalkers decided to take a hike down in the Jamison Valley and en route that it would be fun...
Read MoreFifty buses a day - huge tourist coaches and mini-buses - concentrate on retail Leura Mall. It's crazy and unfair. ...
Read MoreWe've got the first snow flurry in Katoomba for 2019. Global cooling has hit the Blue Mountains. In fact the...
Read MoreSome tourists are pigs. They defile world heritage as a toilet. Our colleague while hiking along Dardanelles Pass last month,...
Read MoreA warped and reckless trend in Blue Mountains selfie tourism is to flaunt death at Wedding Rock on Kings Tableland...
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[This webpage last updated 3rd October 2022]