Public concerns that Light to Light walk in NSW's Ben Boyd National Park will become exclusive premium trail

An $8 million NSW Government plan to commercialise parts of Ben Boyd National Park, on the state's Far South Coast, could see casual visitors' access to certain parts of the reserve limited while those enjoying 'premium' tourism experiences will pay as much as $125 a night to stay in new cabins.

Echoing the development of premium walking trails in Tasmania and New Zealand, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services (NSWNPWS) is aiming to develop a series of "world-class" national parks-based tourism experiences across the state.

A strategic project team within the NSWNPWS tasked with identifying projects "capable of generating benefits for the state economy" has earmarked more than 100 projects around NSW.

If approved, the Light to Light Great Walk will become the first commercial hut-to-hut walk in NSW - but it is only one of more than 100 projects the NSW Government has identified with the aim of generating an income from national parks.

Nine commercial projects have been given "priority funding" from $80 million allocated in the 2018 NSW budget, according to internal documents seen by ABC.

A concept design for the Light to Light Great Walk, obtained by the ABC under a Freedom of Information request, showed the walk has been designed to meet the requirements of the Great Walks group, a private marketing organisation that exclusively promotes privately-owned or commercially-operated luxury hikes.

Bushwalking Victoria President Colin Macdonald said he is concerned by the plans for the Light to Light Great Walk, which is intended to be a glamping-style experience, replete with huts and compost toilets.

Macdonald told the ABC "whatever happened to the 'national parks are for all' mantra?

"The people who least need infrastructure will be restricted while the heavy resource users are welcomed in, complete with red carpet and champagne."

A NSWNPWS report on the upgrades advised that they "are considered critical to success factors to attract commercial partnerships and successfully achieve a Great Walk outcome."

A NSWNPWS spokesman said the Light to Light Great Walk would be "world class," and that the consultation period provided an important opportunity for the community to have a say in the management of the walk.

Advising of local concern about the project, Eden Chamber of Commerce President Peter Whiter said business owners feared a focus on paying walkers would alienate other users.

Chairman of Friends of Davidson Whaling Station Historic Sites Martin Davidson said although he was hopeful upgrades to car parks at Boyd Tower, he held concerns regarding the proposed changes to Green Cape Light house accommodation.

Davidson told local media "they need to give it some serious thought. The plans mean people will no longer be able to casually go whale watching and stay at Green Cape."

Commenting on the plans, NSWNPWS Executive Director, Robert Quirk told local newspaper the Eden Magnet in August "this is an attempt to provide a walk for the non-traditional bushwalker.

"It will open the experience up to people who wouldn't normally have the opportunity of participating in a nature hikes, for example the elderly or people with small children.

"(While) the sites will be available to commercial operators (but) I don't see that as commercialisation, that's really about helping local business and helping people enjoy parks."

Images: Green Cape Lighthouse at the Ben Boyd National Park (top, courtesy of Visit NSW) and facilities that might be offered in the new trail accommodation (below, courtesy of NSWNPWS).