How these short walks in Tasmania will make you a better tourist

Tasmania’s 60 Great Short Walks initiative represents a deliberate and well-thought out attempt to reshape visitor behaviour — here's how.

At its core, the 60 Great Short Walks initiative was a response to a structural problem in tourism. Tasmania was attracting visitors for its landscapes, but:

• many travellers clustered around a few iconic sites

• multi-day walks dominated the narrative around “serious” walking

• large parts of the state were bypassed entirely

The solution was not to discourage people from visiting famous places, but to broaden the field of attraction. Short walks were identified as an ideal mechanism to tackle these three key problems because they:

• require minimal time commitment

• suit a wide range of ages and abilities

• fit easily into self-drive itineraries

• encourage frequent stopping and exploration

As one review noted, the walks were deliberately “designed to get people to places they may not have heard of and mostly away from the package tours.” 

When and how did the 60 Great Short Walks begin?

The 60 Great Short Walks initiative was introduced in the late 2000s, but its origins reach back more than a decade earlier.

Who does what?

Parks and Wildlife Tasmania
Manages Tasmania’s national parks, reserves, and walking tracks, balancing conservation with public access.

Tourism Tasmania
Promotes Tasmania as a travel destination and shapes how visitors experience and move through the state.

Forestry Tasmania
Manages public forest land for timber production, recreation, and conservation outcomes.

Its foundation lies in the Tasmanian Walking Track Strategy and Marketing Plan (1997), a statewide framework developed by the Parks and Wildlife Service in partnership with Tourism Tasmania, Forestry Tasmania, and other government agencies. 

In response, substantial public investment was directed toward improving existing tracks rather than building new ones. Around $2.8 million was allocated to upgrade track surfaces, signage, trailheads, and visitor facilities across the state. These upgrades were not cosmetic, but rather designed to ensure tracks could safely and sustainably accommodate increased visitation.

This is very important

Encouraging dispersed tourism only works if the locations visitors are encouraged to visit can support the load. This means having enough facilities to accommodate an increase in people in the area.

Without proper management of facilities, locations can suffer greatly, and effectively be ruined for the locals (human and animal) who call that place home. 

Tourism to Everest Basecamp, and perhaps more famously, the town of Fujikawaguchiko having to block a view of Mount Fuji from troublesome tourists are classic examples of dispersed tourism gone wrong. 

What actually is dispersed tourism?

Dispersed tourism refers to any strategy that intentionally spreads visitors across a wider geographic area, rather than concentrating it in a small number of destinations

In Australia, dispersed tourism strategies include:

• Queensland’s promotion of regional drive routes beyond the coast

• Western Australia’s encouragement of extended road trips through the Wheatbelt and Gascoyne

• South Australia’s focus on regional food and wine trails
  

Internationally, similar approaches appear in:

• New Zealand’s regional walking and cycling networks

• Scotland’s promotion of long-distance routes that pass through rural towns

• Japan’s rural revitalisation programs centred around walking and cultural trails

The benefits are both practical and environmental:

• reduced pressure on overcrowded sites

• more even distribution of economic benefits

• improved visitor experience through reduced congestion

• greater resilience for regional communities
  

What outcomes has the initiative achieved?

Evaluations of the 60 Great Short Walks point to clear and measurable outcomes.

Increased participation

A review found that the number of interstate and international visitors undertaking short walks doubled following the program’s introduction. This indicates that the initiative successfully attracted people who might not otherwise have engaged in walking at all - great for tourism as well as health outcomes.

High visitor satisfaction

Feedback consistently highlights:

• track quality

• clear signage

• informative interpretation

Longer stays and wider dispersal

Tourism authorities have observed that visitors increasingly structure trips around multiple regions, rather than single destinations. This aligns directly with the program’s dispersed tourism goals and supports local economies through accommodation, food, fuel, and services.

Economic benefits for regional communities

The increased popularity of short walks has generated demand for:

• guided tours

• shuttle services

• equipment hire and retail

• hospitality and accommodation

In this way, the walks function as economic infrastructure, supporting both direct and indirect employment.

High visitation without systemic degradation

Some individual walks now attract tens of thousands of visitors annually. For example, the Montezuma Falls track alone sees more than 20,000 walkers each year. Track counters and ongoing maintenance allow Parks and Wildlife Service to manage impacts effectively, demonstrating that well-designed short walks can handle high use when properly resourced.

Perhaps the clearest expression of the initiative’s intent is that four of the 60 Great Short Walks are located on King Island and Flinders Island.

These walks are not convenient additions. They require flights or ferries, careful planning, and greater expense. Their inclusion signals that dispersed tourism is not just about spreading crowds — it is about recognising the full geographic reality of Tasmania, including places that sit beyond the mainland.

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The 60 Great Short Walks initiative shows what can happen when tourism is planned with intent rather than hype. By investing in existing tracks, setting clear standards, and deliberately spreading visitors across the state, Tasmania avoided many of the pressures now facing destinations shaped by viral images and single-point attractions.

If you are interested in learning more about each of these walk, you can find guides to (almost) all of those here.