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For Sydney woman Karren Hollander, a visit to Mungo National Park in south-west New South Wales was an opportunity to broaden her understanding of Aboriginal culture.
Ms Hollander said it was not a subject she ever learned much about in school.
"I want to hear from people who have lived [this culture] generation to generation," she said.
"I want an Aboriginal perspective on why [Mungo] is significant, I want to hear more about Mungo Man and Mungo Lady."
Many of Karen Hollander's friends have also become interested in Aboriginal culture. (ABC Mildura: Tamara Clark)
Ms Hollander is not the only one interested in the cultural significance of the park.
Data from the National Parks and Wildlife Service shows in the past two years the Mungo National Park has experienced an increase in visitors, with overnight stays up by 21 per cent, and the number of people joining cultural tours rising by 28 per cent.
Cultural tourism boom
New figures from Tourism Research Australia also show an increased interest in cultural tourism across NSW.
In the 2023/24 financial year, 801,900 people participated in an Aboriginal tourism experience, spending $3.2 billion.
Almost 290,000 of those people were domestic visitors, who spent about half a billion dollars — up almost 15 per cent on the previous year.
The trend has seen the number of NSW Aboriginal businesses licenced to conduct tours in national parks increase from 10 to 26 since 2022.
Mungo National Park is in a World Heritage Area. (ABC Landline)
Going further
At the other end of NSW, in the New England region, Kamilaroi man and cultural tourism operator Len Waters has seen visitors from as far away as Germany join his tours.
He said tourists were interested in much more than just the cultural sites.
Kamilaroi astronomy has been popular for guests of Len Waters's cultural tours. (Supplied: Len Waters)
"Really learning about Aboriginal people, the culture, the language, the stories, artefacts and the things that they are used for," he said.
"[There has also been interest] in Kamilaroi astronomy as well.
"That has taken off this year … people like stargazing and following the stories that go with it.”
Mr Waters said the growing interest had allowed him to take his knowledge further afield.
Len Waters has been invited to share his knowledge of Aboriginal culture with people beyond the New England region. (Supplied: Len Waters)
"People … couldn't travel here, so what they did was take me there," he said.
"I've been to Cessnock … places like Baradine and out the other side of Narromine out west."
Mr Waters said he was now making business connections with larger international tourism groups.
"We are getting a lot of inquiries … it's a really positive thing," he said.
"I love it, they go away, they have had a good time and have learnt something, that is the main thing."
The trend has been revealed as the NSW government sets a target to increase visitor expenditure across the state to $91 billion per year by 2035.
Nearly half of that money is predicted to be spent in regional areas.
Tourism Minister John Graham said there were a number of regional attractions that could be promoted.
"Those are things like our incredible food and beverage offerings, outdoor and adventure tourism, some of the festivals or incredible outback festivals that you can attend, or the Indigenous cultural heritage," he said.
"All of those are on offer right across NSW, including in inland NSW."
The state recorded $53 billion in visitor expenditure last financial year.