Open Letter: Australia’s $11 Billion Outdoor Industry Cannot Be Overlooked in the Nation’s Fuel Response

To the Australian Government, Policy Makers and Decision-Makers,

The Outdoor Council of Australia writes on behalf of our 2,000 organisations across the country to raise serious concern about the growing impact of Australia’s current fuel situation on the outdoor industry, and the communities, regions and participants who depend on it.

Across Australia, the effects are already being felt.

Schools are cancelling camps due to increased transport costs. Regional adventure tourism operators are seeing visitors postpone or cancel trips, booking hesitation and reduced travel confidence. Outdoor providers, including nature therapists, are also facing rising costs to move staff, equipment and participants into the regional and remote natural areas where experiences are delivered. These are not hypothetical concerns. They are practical, immediate impacts that are already changing behaviour across the country. Recent reporting has highlighted worsening shortages, rising prices, cancellations in regional travel, and increasing pressure on tourism and regional businesses. 

This uncertainty is also creating its own ripple effect. Even where supply remains available, concern about future access and affordability is causing schools, families, businesses and travellers to make precautionary decisions now. When uncertainty shapes decision-making, the damage begins before the full crisis arrives.

For the outdoor industry, this matters deeply.

The industry is also exposed through its supply chain and operating model. Many outdoor providers and operators are small businesses and community-based organisations with limited ability to absorb sudden increases in fuel and transport costs, and even less ability to pass those costs on, without reducing participation or losing bookings altogether. Fuel availability and affordability not only affect transport, they impact the cost of maintaining properties, vehicles, equipment, access roads and essential infrastructure that support outdoor programs and visitor experiences. In regional and nature-based settings, where travel distances are greater and maintenance needs are ongoing, these pressures are amplified.

Our industry is not discretionary in the way it is often perceived. It is a significant contributor to regional economies, local employment, tourism dispersal, education, health and social wellbeing. It supports school camps, outdoor learning, recreation, adventure tourism, skills development, youth development, nature connection, therapies and preventative health outcomes. When people cannot travel to participate, or when providers cannot afford to deliver, the consequences are felt far beyond a cancelled booking. They are felt in missed learning opportunities, lost regional income, reduced workforce activity, and fewer chances for Australians to connect with nature in ways that build confidence, resilience, belonging and wellbeing.

At a time when governments are rightly focused on resilience, productivity, regional economies and public health, the outdoor industry must not be ignored. It is an industry of economic value, employment and substantial participant benefit. The current fuel crisis is already constraining movement, participation and program delivery across our sector, particularly in regional Australia where alternatives are limited and distances are greater.

We urge governments and policymakers to:

• Recognise the outdoor industry as an impacted sector - Outdoor education, outdoor recreation, adventure tourism and outdoor health should be explicitly considered in fuel response, regional support and economic resilience discussions.

• Consider the flow-on impacts to schools, regional tourism and workforce mobility - Rising fuel costs do not only affect private motorists. They affect buses to camps, staff travel to regional programs, tourism dispersal, and the viability of outdoor experiences delivered in natural areas.

• Include the industry in targeted support and contingency planning - Any response aimed at reducing harm to regional communities and essential economic activity should consider the operating realities of outdoor businesses, the many volunteers in clubs, scouts and guides and not-for-profit providers.

• Recognise participant outcomes as part of national resilience - Outdoor experiences are not merely leisure. They contribute to education, mental health, physical health, life skills, social connection and individual development. In many cases, they are preventative investments in healthier, more capable communities.

• Work with industry to understand the full impact - We welcome the opportunity to provide evidence, case studies and sector insight to help inform a more complete national response.

Australia’s outdoor industry connects people to place, to community and to themselves. It strengthens regional economies while delivering benefits that extend across education, health, tourism and community development. In times of national strain, this contribution becomes even more important, not less.

We ask that policy makers do not overlook an industry that helps Australians learn, grow, connect and thrive.

Signed,

Lori Modde - CHAIR

Outdoor Council of Australia

and its co-authors