Department of Conservation (DoC) director general Lou Sanson has said New Zealand could follow South American countries in charging for access to national parks.

Fresh back from a holiday in Patagonia, Sanson said we could learn from how the region is managing access to its national parks, which were our largest competition, Newshub reported.

"The minimum charge in a hotel in Torres del Paine national park is US$300 and then they had three campsites of 80 people which were free, and if you missed out on those you could go to a concessionaire and hire a tent for $90. And just to access the tracks was $60," he was cited saying.

CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ DoC boss Lou Sanson thinks New Zealand could learn a lot from South America about national park fees.

DoC is struggling to cope with the tourism boom that saw a record 3.5 million visitors to New Zealand last year.

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The department is expecting 40 per cent more visitors this year, half of whom will be from overseas.

DoC is not legally permitted to charge for access to national parks and former Prime Minister John Key was not in favour of introducing them when asked last year.

Sanson said he is in favour of introducing differential fees similar to those used in South America.

"The South American system really has quite sophisticated differential charges. So it's $33 for me in both parks, if you're an Argentinian it's half that and if you're from that province it's $4," he said.

BRADEN FASTIER / Stuff.co.nz A journey to Awaroa Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park.

He suggested introducing entry charges for four popular parks - Milford, Fox, Franz and Aoraki. Others, with multiple access points, could be difficult to charge for, he noted.

However, he would prefer to see park users charged for services such as huts rather than access.

Kiwis would pay far less than international tourists, he suggested, saying a hut in Routeburn might cost locals $50 and foreigners twice that.

KIRK HARGREAVES/FAIRFAX NZ Department of Conservation (DoC) director general Lou Sanson said he would prefer to see park users charged for services such as huts rather than access.

DoC huts currently cost up to $54.

Another option could be to introduce charges for services like buses which transport people to and from the park and parking.

In December, tramping group Federated Mountain Clubs hit out at the possibility that tourists could be forced to pay more to experience the country's Great Walks.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry had conceded the costs of servicing remote huts and keeping them "up to standard has become a challenge".

"It's almost certainly going to be inefficient, very difficult and intrusive to [New Zealand's] welcoming culture," vice-president Jan Finlayson said.

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