Imagine for a moment a couple in their camper doing their “lap of the map”. One lazy afternoon sitting at their campsite, they start to plan out the next leg of their trip. What experiences are nearby? Where can they stay? Do they need a permit?

To answer those questions, they reach for their phones, or tablet, or laptop - and start searching! Before you know it, they’ve planned out their route, applied for any necessary access permits, booked campsites and picked out the experiences they want to enjoy.

It’s couples like this who are your prospective guests - they want to travel through your country, they want to stay on your country and they want to experience your country. Can they find out how to purchase permits for your community online?

You might have hesitations about “going online”, or what equipment you might need or even the cost, but an online permit system can truly empower your community! Let’s look at just two benefits:

1) Control

You’ve fought hard and in some cases for a long time for control over your country. An online booking system simply compliments this. How? An online permit system gives you:

• The ability to monitor who and when guests are on country at any given time
• A simple way to close access during times of sorry business, extreme weather events, seasonal closures or to conduct essential maintenance.
• Functionality to restrict access to sacred sites within your country or any other areas for bio security or safety reasons. Alternatively, it can also ensure guests only access designated areas.

2) Income

By charging guests a fee to purchase a visitor access permit and/or a campsite, your community earns direct revenue - money! Every dollar raised via permit fees goes directly back to traditional owners, providing a simple and guaranteed way to earn income for your community.

The turnaround time is very short - a guest simply purchases a permit online using their credit card, and the money is settled to your bank account daily - much the same way an EFTPOS machine works at a shop!

Why is having an online booking system so important?

Let’s think back to our camper couple on their “lap of the map”. How did they research and then book the next leg of their trip? Online via a mobile device! They’re not calling ahead, hoping to talk to a manned office - online offers them far greater convenience. As a community, being online will also give you the control you want and bring you the income you need.

Guests are constantly searching online looking for possible itineraries and any permits that might be required for their trip. Generally, they want to do the right thing, and they want to find out what the right thing to do is! They’re also searching for potential campsites, places of interest and experiences to enjoy. How do they do that - online!

In 2018 SaleCycle conducted a global survey that 82% of ALL travel bookings worldwide took place without human interaction - so in plain english, online! Currently (2022) our own clients report to us that over 90% of their total bookings are being received online. 

That’s a very clear majority that book their travel online - so if you don’t have an online permit system in place, you are missing out! You are missing out on control over your country, and you are missing out on income.

Case Study: Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation

The Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation was set up by the Yolngu, Traditional Owners of Northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, and is responsible for the management of the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). To better manage their growing number of visitors to the IPA, in 2019 they engaged us to create and manage their visitor access permit system, as well as their campsite and accommodation bookings.