Park authorities said they did not want to deter visitors but had been forced to put on extra buses and guides to deal with the influx of visitors, especially during the summer months and on weekends.
“It’s just about balance. There is plenty of room at the park but it’s just during peak holiday season it’s really busy,” Helen Roderick, the park sustainable development officer, said.
“People can come at other times - like early in the morning or in September and October - and have the place to themselves.”
Social media users, who want to use the park’s scenery as backdrops for their selfies, have also made a pilgrimage to the region in recent years.
Pen Y Fan, the highest peak in south Wales, is a favourite for influencers who want to post pictures from the mountain top, while others have stripped down to bikinis to shoot content and take pictures posing in the region’s waterfalls.
Roderick said they have had to put on extra “meet and greet staff” to deal with influencers turning up in their flip-flops and swimming costumes for a picture, not realising it’s a 40 minute hike.
“There has been an influx post-Covid and different people have discovered our park, through Instagram, and come ill-prepared for what they’re facing,” she said.
‘Countryside morals’
She said park authorities wanted the new visitors to adhere to what she described as “countryside morals”.
“They might want the Instagram shot but we want them to be a bit more sensible and treat the place with respect. We would discourage swimming - it’s not a beach. It’s just not the right place to do that.”
Park authorities have also had to deal with an influx of day hikers, especially those lured by social media posts, who have been unprepared for the rapidly changing weather conditions.
Roderick said locals enjoyed the extra business that tourists brought to the areas, but some were getting frustrated by the congestion.
In 2020, the park was overrun with visitors after lockdown restrictions were lifted, with carparks and footpaths busy with visitors.
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park is developing a new tourism strategy to look at new ways to ease the environmental impacts.
There is now a bus taking tourists to the peak of Pen Y Fan for £1 ($2.14), but further restrictions on cars in the park were also being considered.
“We are looking at our tourism strategy and everything is on the table. But we would consider that [car ban] as a last resort,” Roderick said.
Last month, UK National Parks committed to halving their carbon emissions by 2030 and be net zero by 2050.
