Outback tourism hit hard by fuel scare

Local businesswoman Judy Hungerford is optimistic that there will be a return to better times when the ‘fuel fear’ subsides, and the cost of living improves. Photo: Beverley Callow

Story by Tricia Duffield

To date, the 2026 tourism season is one of the worst ever experienced in the Outback, with hotel, motel and caravan occupancy rates at an all time low, businesses cutting back on staff, or staff choosing to leave the industry in search of more secure work.

From Bourke to Brewarrina, Lightning Ridge to Broken Hill, and from Walgett to Wanaaring to White Cliffs, the story is the same – the roads have been empty, the caravan parks have been empty, and the normally bustling town centres have been eerily quiet.

While the impact is visible for the accommodation businesses at the front line of the tourism industry, what will take longer to assess is the damage to local economies which rely on the increase in visitors from April to October.

This year, the fear of fuel prices and fuel availability has almost shut the industry down. The caravans have not been coming, and visitors are choosing what they perceive as less risky, or more affordable options.

Judy Hungerford owns the Mitchell Caravan Park at Bourke, which in a good season would be heavily booked from Easter until October. Not so this year.

“It’s been terrible, terrible, terrible,” Judy said. “It’s been a really bad this season, and it’s really hurting us. […]

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