Tourism impacts

Increasing tourist numbers and their associated vehicles and infrastructure impacts, can be intensive around iconic sites on K’gari.

Their impacts include:

• some deterioration of aesthetics (World Heritage criterion vii)
• localised geological impacts (World Heritage criterion viii)
• localised ecological and evolutionary impacts (World Heritage criterion xi).

The large numbers of 4WD vehicles driving along the beaches and beach camping disturb the fauna around the shorelines.

While these impacts are concentrated around visitor sites and travel routes, they are unlikely to alter on-going geomorphological (the physical form or surface features of the earth’s surface) or ecological processes at the landscape level.

Visitor numbers

National park strategies to address visitor issues include infrastructure design and management, plans to minimise impacts on sensitive areas and World Heritage values.

The accurate capture of visitor numbers, generally for the site or specific hot spots on the island, will help us identify strategies to manage the impacts of high visitor numbers. Research into visitor numbers, seasonality, and their impact on K’gari’s most popular attractions is underway. Accurate monitoring of total visitor numbers (including travellers not requiring permits) is integral to managing tourism impacts and visitor safety on K’gari. The current monitoring system requires enhancement to more accurately reflect visitor numbers.

The impact of beach camping and unrestricted camping in dunes without toilet facilities is potentially a threat with a preliminary study conducted in 2015. We are actively managing visitors to reduce the impacts of camping.

Pollution and siltation

The pollution and siltation (i.e. blocking with sand or soil) of aquatic areas, particularly perched lakes and streams, impact the island’s World Heritage values. In particular, the values associated with ongoing ecological and biological processes and the evolution of vertebrates and invertebrates (World Heritage criterion ix).

The large number of 4WD vehicles (including buses) used by tourists and residents and coastal urban development compact the soil and provoke erosion and siltation, filling pristine dune lakes with sediment.

Pollution and siltation impacts are typically limited to high-use visitor sites, e.g., Boorangoora (Lake McKenzie) and Eli Creek.

Regular and more frequent monitoring and research on lake water would be beneficial. Water quality monitoring by University of Queensland and the Queensland Government of several lakes on the island (ranging from low to high visitation) concluded that water quality was good and unchanged from monitoring conducted in 1988.

In November 2019, the Butchulla Land and Sea Rangers commenced a water quality monitoring program.

In 2023, Butchulla Land and Sea Rangers, with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, organised a cleanup of Boorangoora (Lake McKenzie). The team removed several kilograms of rubbish, mainly band-aids and sanitary products.

Threat assessment

The assessment of threats is outlined in the K’gari (Fraser Island) Conservation Outlook Assessment from 2014, 2017 and 2020. Reporting of Outlook Assessment has changed from every three years to every five years and the next report is due in 2025.

Overall assessment of threats

Increased tourism is acting as a driver for a number of threats to the property, which include pollution, erosion and siltation, disturbance, and the introduction of invasive species. Management capacity is high, but negative effects on the site's values and integrity is probable unless management is increased. There is a need for more data on the number of visitor arrivals on K'gari for effective decision-making and management outcomes. These threats are considered ‘high.’