The State of Mapping in Australia 2026

by Christopher O'Keeffe July 29, 2026

Australia has never depended on mapping more. Yet many Australians now encounter a map only as a blue line on a small screen, without necessarily knowing who made it, how current it is, what lies beyond the route or what happens when the system fails.

Australia in 2026 presents an apparent contradiction.

The conventional map industry has contracted. Specialist map shops have disappeared from city centres. The mass market for dedicated in-car navigation devices has fallen from its peak. Street directories are no longer carried in every vehicle, and many people can complete a journey without unfolding a paper map.

At the same time, mapping has become part of the operating system of modern Australia.

It supports:

• emergency response;

• mining and agriculture;

• defence and maritime operations;

• transport and logistics;

• tourism and regional development;

• land administration;

• environmental monitoring;

• health-service planning;

• electoral administration;

• property, insurance and infrastructure decisions;

• the movement of almost every person, parcel and vehicle.

An economic impact study prepared for the Geospatial Council of Australia estimated that modern geospatial information services made Australian GDP approximately $38.6 billion higher in 2023–24 than it otherwise would have been. Under its business-as-usual scenario, that annual impact is projected to reach approximately $62.4 billion by 2033–34.

Mapping is therefore not disappearing.

It is becoming more digital, more embedded, more specialised and, in many situations, less visible.

At Mapworld, more than 30 years of customer enquiries and category demand reveal another important part of the story. Demand for Hema Navigators, Garmin units and other dedicated in-car GPS products peaked around 2017. International map demand collapsed when COVID-19 stopped overseas travel. Wall-map demand surged while Australians reorganised homes, offices and classrooms—and that demand remained strong after restrictions ended. International travel-map demand then returned dramatically, while demand for Australian mapping remained comparatively constant.

Most strikingly, paper maps have not died.

They have changed role.

Digital mapping has won the turn-by-turn instruction. Paper retains the wider picture.

The paper map in 2026 is less likely to be the only navigation system. It is more likely to be the overview, planning surface, teaching resource, emergency backup, operational display, decorative object or permanent record that a screen cannot fully replace.

That is the real state of mapping in Australia in 2026: not a contest between old and new, but a redistribution of functions between paper, screens, satellites, government data, specialist publishers and human geographic judgement.

Explore Mapworld’s complete range, including maps of Australia, international maps, topographic maps, wall maps, marine charts, globes, flags, compasses and historical maps.

The State of Mapping in Australia: 2026 at a Glance

Area	Position in 2026	What it means
Everyday navigation	Smartphones and embedded vehicle systems dominate	Most people receive instructions without studying a complete route
Dedicated in-car GPS	Mass-market demand is below its 2017 peak	Hema and similar devices now serve a more specialist offline, remote and 4WD market
Paper travel maps	Experiencing a selective renaissance	Customers value overview, independence, permanence and the pleasure of physical planning
International maps	Strong post-COVID resurgence	Australian outbound travel has returned above pre-pandemic levels
Australian maps	Comparatively stable demand	Domestic touring, 4WD travel, fieldwork and institutional use provide a durable base
Wall maps	COVID-era surge has continued	Homes, schools, offices and operations rooms still want a large shared geographic view
Government mapping	Increasingly digital, open and data-rich	Access has improved, but users still need printable, offline and fit-for-purpose outputs
Geographic literacy	More important, not less	Following a route is not the same as understanding scale, terrain, direction or spatial relationships
Specialist map retail	Significantly contracted	Expertise, stock depth and succession have become concentrated in fewer businesses
Emergency mapping	Live GIS is essential, but redundancy matters	Current digital intelligence and independent offline references should be planned together
Future direction	Hybrid, precise, personalised and provenance-led	AI, satellite positioning and live data will expand, while trusted paper and print-on-demand remain valuable

Evidence Note

Statements about Mapworld’s category demand are based on the company’s sales history, customer enquiries and long-term experience across Australian, international, GPS and wall-map categories. They are directional first-party commercial observations, not presented as audited statistics for the entire Australian retail market.

National travel, government mapping, education, emergency-management and physical-media claims are linked to published sources throughout this article.

1. The Mapworld Demand Curve: From GPS Peak to Paper Renewal

The clearest way to understand the consumer map market is to follow what changed between 2017 and 2026.

2017: Dedicated In-Car GPS Reaches Its High-Water Mark

Around 2017, Mapworld experienced peak demand for dedicated in-car navigation units, led by products such as Hema Navigators and Garmin devices.

These units solved a real problem. They gave motorists:

• a dedicated screen;

• turn-by-turn directions;

• stored mapping independent of mobile reception;

• vehicle mounting and power;

• specialist road, touring or off-road content;

• a navigation device that did not compete with calls and other phone functions.

For remote and four-wheel-drive travel, a Hema Navigator could also provide map content far beyond a conventional metropolitan street-navigation system.

The category did not disappear after 2017, but its role narrowed.

Smartphones improved. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto became normal. Built-in vehicle displays became larger. Free or low-cost navigation applications added traffic, search, reviews and automatic rerouting. A device that had once been a mainstream purchase became a specialist choice.

Mapworld still maintains a dedicated Hema Maps collection and GPS systems and mapping software collection, because dedicated offline navigation remains useful for particular travellers. The difference is that the customer now tends to have a defined reason for choosing it.

2020–21: International Mapping Collapses

COVID-19 produced the most abrupt category disruption Mapworld had experienced.

From 20 March 2020, overseas travel by Australians was banned with few exceptions. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded only 2.8 million resident returns from overseas in 2020, down 75 per cent from 2019 and the lowest annual total since 1996. By February 2021, total arrivals to Australia were 98 per cent below the same month a year earlier.

Demand for maps of Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and other international destinations did what the travel market did: it fell sharply.

This was not evidence that travellers had rejected paper maps. Travellers had been removed from the market.

2020–22: Wall Maps Surge

At the same time, Mapworld saw a pronounced increase in demand for wall maps.

Australians were:

• establishing home offices;

• teaching children at home;

• spending more time in domestic rooms;

• planning future journeys while unable to travel;

• looking for visual reference away from a small screen;

• improving studies, classrooms and workspaces;

• using large maps to discuss territories, logistics and operations.

World maps, maps of Australia, state maps, historical maps and educational displays all acquired new relevance.

The important point is what happened next.

Demand did not simply return to its former level when restrictions eased. Mapworld’s wall-map category remained strong after COVID.

That suggests the pandemic accelerated discovery of a product whose usefulness outlasted the conditions that first drove the surge.

2022–26: International Maps Return

Australia reopened to fully vaccinated visa holders on 21 February 2022, and international travel progressively recovered.

The recovery is now visible in national data. The ABS reported that the number of Australian residents returning from overseas in 2024–25 was the highest on record, more than one million trips above the previous 2018–19 peak. In October 2025, short-term resident returns were 11.5 per cent above the October 2019 level.

Mapworld’s international map demand rose with that renewed movement.

Australians again wanted:

• national road maps;

• regional touring maps;

• road atlases;

• city maps;

• walking maps;

• cruise maps;

• waterproof adventure maps;

• maps that showed how an itinerary fitted together.

The post-COVID increase has been substantial because it combines recovered travel with a renewed appreciation of physical planning.

Domestic Demand Remains the Anchor

International demand has been volatile. Domestic demand has been more consistent.

Australia’s scale, sparse population and regional travel culture create enduring needs for:

• road atlases;

• state maps;

• four-wheel-drive maps;

• camping and touring guides;

• topographic sheets;

• marine charts;

• mining and resource maps;

• postcode, electoral and administrative maps.

Tourism Research Australia reported that domestic overnight trips remained steady at 113 million in 2024–25. That stability broadly fits Mapworld’s experience: Australian mapping has remained a dependable category even when the product mix has changed.

The result is not a return to the map market of 1996 or 2017.

It is a new market with a different centre of gravity.

2. Paper Versus Digital Is the Wrong Argument

The question “Are paper maps or digital maps better?” is too simple to be useful.

Each format solves different problems.

Need	Digital mapping is strongest when…	Paper mapping is strongest when…
Live navigation	Traffic, closures and route recalculation matter	A permanent overview and alternatives matter
Search	The exact address, service or business must be found	Places must be compared across a complete region
Scale changes	The user needs to move rapidly from national to street level	A consistent scale is needed for comparison and judgement
Field use	Offline files are downloaded and power is available	Independence from batteries, reception and software is important
Group planning	Everyone has access to the same digital workspace	Several people need to see and mark one shared surface
Education	Interactive layers and analysis are required	Students need a persistent reference that keeps the wider world visible
Emergency management	Conditions are changing and live layers are available	Systems fail or a stable common operating picture is required
Record keeping	Data must be updated and distributed quickly	An edition, route, annotation or historical state must be preserved

What Digital Mapping Does Brilliantly

Digital mapping has transformed everyday life because it can combine position with continuously changing information.

It can show:

• live traffic;

• road closures;

• public transport;

• satellite imagery;

• weather and hazards;

• searchable addresses;

• business opening hours;

• accessibility information;

• downloadable offline areas;

• multiple thematic layers;

• a moving position;

• automatic route changes.

No paper map can imitate that.

What Paper Does Differently

A paper map does not compete with a phone by trying to become a slower phone.

Its strengths are different:

• it shows a wide area at once;

• it makes alternative routes visible;

• it supports comparison without repeated zooming;

• it remains available without signal or power;

• it can be annotated and shared;

• it preserves one stable edition;

• it helps the user form a mental picture of a region;

• it can remain on a wall, desk or table for months;

• it turns geography into a visible part of a room.

The most useful distinction is between instruction and understanding.

A digital system may be excellent at telling a driver to turn left in 300 metres.

A paper road map may be better at showing why the road follows a valley, where the next regional centre lies, which alternative route avoids a pass and how today’s drive relates to the rest of the journey.

A Necessary Technical Distinction

GPS and mobile data are not the same thing.

A smartphone or dedicated navigator can calculate a position from satellite signals without mobile reception. However, the map display, destination search, traffic feed, cloud routing and updates may still depend on data that has been stored in advance or downloaded through a network.

A traveller who has downloaded a complete offline map may be well prepared.

A traveller whose application has cached only the last few kilometres may not be.

Digital systems can fail because of:

• depleted batteries;

• damaged screens;

• overheating;

• water ingress;

• missing offline files;

• software faults;

• incorrect settings;

• outdated mapping;

• routing errors;

• satellite-signal obstruction or interference;

• simple user error.

Paper maps have limitations too. They can be old, damaged, wet, poorly scaled or unsuitable for the task. A paper map does not know that a road washed out yesterday.

The safety principle is therefore not “paper is always reliable” or “digital is always current”.

It is:

Use current information for change, an appropriate map for context and an independent layer for resilience.

Mapworld examines this practical combination in GPS vs Paper Maps: Why Paper Maps Still Matter in a Digital World and GPS Disruption in Australia: Why Paper Maps Matter.

3. GPS Dependence Has Changed the Skill of Navigation

The decline in mass-market demand for dedicated in-car GPS does not mean Australians are less dependent on satellite navigation.

It means the dependence has migrated into:

• phones;

• vehicles;

• fleet systems;

• agricultural machinery;

• delivery platforms;

• aircraft and vessels;

• emergency dispatch;

• survey equipment;

• consumer applications.

Navigation has become easier to access and harder to see as a system.

The Blue-Line Problem

A turn-by-turn interface can deliver a person successfully while revealing very little about the journey.

The user may not know:

• which direction they travelled;

• what towns they passed;

• how far the destination is from the coast;

• what terrain surrounds the route;

• where the nearest alternative road lies;

• whether the route makes sense at regional scale.

This is not a reason to reject turn-by-turn navigation. It is a reason to distinguish route compliance from geographic understanding.

The strongest navigators use digital positioning as one source of information, not as a substitute for all judgement.

NSW National Parks advises bushwalkers to carry a topographic map and compass, know how to use them, and also download the parks application. Its specific guidance on GPS warns against relying on the device alone and recommends combining it with topographic maps and a compass.

That is a mature digital position: use the technology, understand its limits and maintain independent capability.

The Continuing Specialist Case for Dedicated GPS

Dedicated Hema and similar systems still make sense when customers need:

• extensive offline mapping;

• specialist 4WD content;

• a permanent vehicle installation;

• a screen that is not also a phone;

• track recording and waypoint management;

• navigation in low-connectivity areas;

• a device configured specifically for touring.

The market has moved from “everyone needs a GPS” to “some users need the right GPS”.

That is typical of mapping in 2026: the mass-market function becomes digital and ubiquitous, while the physical or dedicated product survives by becoming more purposeful.

4. The Paper-Map Renaissance Is Selective, Not Nostalgic

Paper maps are sometimes discussed as though their only constituency consists of people refusing modern technology.

Mapworld’s experience suggests something more interesting.

Many customers who buy paper maps also use:

• Google Maps;

• Apple Maps;

• Hema applications;

• Avenza Maps;

• vehicle navigation;

• satellite communicators;

• GPS watches;

• digital government mapping portals.

They are not choosing a past without digital mapping.

They are choosing a physical format for the functions it still performs best.

The Hardback and Vinyl Comparison

The closest cultural comparison is not the replacement of the horse by the motorcar. It is the relationship between streaming and vinyl, or between ebooks and a well-made hardback.

Convenience wins many everyday transactions. Physical formats survive when they offer a different experience.

Australia’s physical music market grew strongly in 2025. According to ARIA, physical-music revenue increased 11 per cent, while vinyl-album revenue reached $46.3 million from more than 1.2 million units. Australia’s 2024 print-book market had eased from its pandemic peak, but NielsenIQ reported that it was still 14 per cent higher in volume and 13 per cent higher in value than five years earlier.

The point is not that maps, books and records have identical economics.

It is that digital dominance does not eliminate physical demand when the physical object offers:

• tactile pleasure;

• permanence;

• collectability;

• display;

• ownership;

• concentration;

• a larger visual field;

• a stronger sense of occasion.

Why People Buy Paper Maps in 2026

Mapworld customers buy paper maps to:

• spread a journey across a table;

• understand a whole country before booking;

• mark a route with family or friends;

• navigate without using a phone;

• carry an independent field reference;

• teach scale and location;

• research a historical landscape;

• frame a place with personal meaning;

• retain a record of a journey;

• give a geographic gift.

The paper map has moved from default utility to deliberate choice.

That can make it more valuable, not less.

5. Why the Wall-Map Boom Continued After COVID

The persistence of wall-map demand deserves particular attention because it is one of the clearest changes in Mapworld’s category mix.

During COVID, a wall map brought the inaccessible world into the home.

After COVID, it remained useful.

A Wall Map Is a Shared Interface

A wall map is continuously available.

It does not need to be opened, charged, searched or projected. It allows a person to notice geography incidentally and repeatedly.

In a home, it can support:

• travel planning;

• family discussion;

• children’s questions;

• memory and aspiration;

• decoration with meaning.

In a school, it can support:

• geographic reference;

• current affairs;

• history;

• politics;

• environmental study;

• spatial vocabulary.

In an organisation, it can support:

• sales territories;

• logistics;

• emergency planning;

• infrastructure;

• service catchments;

• property portfolios;

• operational briefings.

The growth is therefore broader than decorative demand.

Mapworld’s wall-map collection now spans political, physical, regional, historical, educational, postcode, electoral, mining, wine and specialist operational themes. It includes paper, laminated, canvas, framed and hang-railed formats.

Relevant collections include:

• world wall maps;

• Australia and Asia-Pacific wall maps;

• wall maps of countries, continents and regions;

• historical wall maps;

• postcode maps;

• electoral maps;

• mining and resources maps;

• educational maps and globes.

The pandemic did not create all these uses.

It made more customers discover them.

6. Geographic Literacy Is Now a Form of Data Literacy

Geographic literacy is sometimes reduced to knowing capitals, rivers or country outlines.

Those facts matter, but the more important skill is being able to reason about space.

A geographically literate person can ask:

• What scale am I looking at?

• What has been included or omitted?

• How old is the information?

• What does the projection distort?

• What is the source?

• How far apart are these places?

• What terrain, boundary or network explains the pattern?

• What changes when I zoom in or out?

• Is this map descriptive, predictive or persuasive?

• What uncertainty is hidden by a precise-looking line?

These questions apply to far more than travel.

They apply to:

• bushfire and flood maps;

• electoral boundaries;

• housing and population maps;

• disease and healthcare maps;

• climate projections;

• mining-tenement maps;

• school catchments;

• transport networks;

• military and geopolitical maps;

• business territories.

The Curriculum Recognises the Need

Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum has been available for implementation by jurisdictions since 2023. Its Humanities and Social Sciences framework says students should use digital literacy and spatial technologies to locate, process, analyse, evaluate and communicate geographic information.

The foundational curriculum design is explicit: a spatial perspective teaches students to use and interpret maps of all types and analyse relationships between phenomena.

The challenge is not whether map skills belong in education.

It is whether students receive enough repeated, practical experience to make those skills durable.

A Complete Geography Classroom Is Hybrid

An effective classroom does not choose between a wall map and GIS.

It uses:

• a world map for persistent global context;

• an Australia map for national relationships;

• a globe for shape, latitude, longitude and projection;

• an atlas for comparison;

• topographic maps for scale, contour and terrain;

• historical maps for change over time;

• digital mapping for layers, inquiry and analysis;

• fieldwork to connect symbols with the landscape.

A wall map helps keep the whole visible. A digital map allows the class to interrogate detail.

Mapworld’s educational maps and globes, world globes, topographic maps and historical maps support different parts of that learning.

For a fuller discussion, read How Maps Improve Spatial Thinking, The Decline of Map Reading Skills—and Why It Matters and Mapworld and Schools.

Maps Are Not Neutral

Geographic literacy also requires understanding that every map is a selection.

Names, boundaries, colours, classifications and empty spaces all reflect decisions.

This is particularly important when mapping Country, communities and data relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Australian Government’s Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data states that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should have greater agency over how data about them is governed, interpreted and used.

The future of authoritative mapping is therefore not only about higher resolution.

It is also about:

• provenance;

• permission;

• naming;

• cultural authority;

• participation;

• responsible interpretation.

7. The Disappearance of Specialist Map Shops

The decline of specialist map shops is one of the most consequential changes in Australian map culture.

A specialist map shop is difficult to operate because the range is inherently broad and slow-moving.

One customer may need:

• a current road map of Iceland;

• a 1:25,000 topographic sheet;

• a marine chart of a particular harbour;

• a postcode map for a sales territory;

• a large laminated world map;

• a historical plan of Sydney;

• a compass suitable for fieldwork;

• an administrative map for a government office.

No small selection can answer all those requests.

The traditional model therefore required:

• expensive retail space;

• deep inventory;

• knowledgeable staff;

• relationships with many publishers;

• familiarity with scales, editions and sheet indexes;

• enough demand to support products that might sell only occasionally.

In Mapworld’s industry experience, high rents, wages, energy and operating costs placed pressure on that model. Digital navigation reduced high-volume categories such as street directories and generic road navigation. Ecommerce changed where customers expected to shop. In family and founder-led businesses, succession planning became decisive.

A Visible 2026 Example

In April 2026, ABC News reported that The Map Shop in Adelaide was preparing to close after owner and cartographer Anthony Stephens reached his 80th year. He had run the shop for more than 35 years and worked in cartography for 59 years.

The story captured both sides of the industry.

Business had been affected by GPS and smartphones, yet the shop continued receiving online orders and serving government, business and specialist customers. The closure was not proof that maps had no users. It was also a succession event: a lifetime of expertise reached retirement without an obvious continuation in the same form.

Another long-running Western Australian chart and map business entered liquidation in March 2026 and was acquired by new owners seeking to re-establish the operation.

The lesson is that demand alone does not preserve an institution.

Knowledge must also be transferred, and the business model must survive.

What Is Lost When a Map Shop Closes

The loss is not only a shopfront.

It can include:

• knowledge of which map covers an obscure locality;

• understanding of map scale and adjoining sheets;

• familiarity with publishers and edition cycles;

• the ability to compare products physically;

• access to slow-selling specialist titles;

• local cartographic knowledge;

• a place where unusual enquiries are understood;

• feedback between map users, retailers and publishers.

Search can find a product title.

It cannot always determine whether that product is the correct map.

Mapworld’s Transition

Mapworld began as the retail network associated with Hema Maps and, at its height, operated specialist shops in Sydney, Crows Nest, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth.

The business later transitioned from a national shopfront network to a specialist online model with a Perth warehouse and shop.

That transition allowed Mapworld to preserve:

• national reach;

• deep inventory;

• specialist advice;

• Australian and international sourcing;

• large-format printing and finishing;

• access for regional and remote customers;

• the ability to hold categories that general retailers no longer support.

Today Mapworld operates as Australia’s largest online map shop, with a range spanning maps, charts, globes, flags, compasses, navigation products, historical cartography, educational resources and specialist geographic tools.

The storefront changed.

The specialist function remained.

Read Why Specialist Map Shops Remain Important in Australia and Where to Buy Maps in Australia: The Complete Guide.

8. Government Mapping Is Becoming Digital Public Infrastructure

Australia’s government mapping system is not one agency producing one national map.

It is an ecosystem.

At Commonwealth level, Geoscience Australia is the national mapping agency and primary authority for national location information. States and territories maintain crucial cadastral, address, place-name, topographic, elevation and land-information datasets. Local government contributes detailed operational knowledge. The Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping coordinates standards and national framework datasets across Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand.

This distributed structure is necessary, but it can be confusing for the public.

Different portals may have different:

• scales;

• update cycles;

• interfaces;

• download formats;

• licensing conditions;

• print options;

• levels of technical complexity.

AUSTopo Is a Major 2026 Milestone

On 31 March 2026, Geoscience Australia announced completion of the nationwide release of the AUSTopo 1:250,000 digital topographic map series.

The series:

• covers Australia in 516 map sheets;

• uses GDA2020 and the Map Grid of Australia;

• is free to download;

• can be used offline;

• is designed to be printable;

• preserves access to earlier editions;

• is licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

That is an important model for modern public mapping: authoritative digital distribution without abandoning printability, offline use or historical access.

Mapworld supplies physical versions through its AUSTopo 1:250,000 collection, allowing customers to obtain a professionally printed sheet rather than manage large-format output themselves.

National Coverage Does Not Mean Every Scale Is Current

Users must still pay attention to scale and edition.

Geoscience Australia’s topographic map index notes that:

• Commonwealth 1:50,000 coverage is partial, with map currency ranging from 1968 to 2006;

• 1:100,000 national-series maps range in currency from 1961 to 2008;

• the older NATMAP 1:250,000 series ranges from 1995 to 2012;

• AUSTopo provides the modern nationwide 1:250,000 series, with map currency from 2023.

This is why “I need a government map” is not a complete specification.

The user must also ask:

• What area?

• What scale?

• What task?

• What edition?

• Which features matter?

• Is an adjoining sheet required?

• Is the map for planning, navigation, display or historical comparison?

The Digital Atlas and the Move from Maps to Mapping

The Digital Atlas of Australia brings trusted national datasets into a central platform where users can explore geography, population, economy and environment by location.

This represents a broader government shift.

The product is no longer only a finished map.

It is:

• an authoritative data service;

• an interactive visualisation;

• a platform for combining layers;

• a tool for analysis;

• infrastructure for policy and operations.

That is a significant advance, but good public mapping should retain several principles:

1. authoritative data should be easy to discover;

2. editions and update dates should be visible;

3. printable and offline outputs should remain available;

4. earlier editions should be preserved;

5. non-specialists should be able to use the system;

6. state and national datasets should interoperate;

7. source, uncertainty and limitations should be explained;

8. First Nations data governance should be embedded rather than added later.

Government, publishers and specialist retailers perform different roles.

Government provides authority and foundational data. Publishers select and edit information for particular audiences. Retailers help users choose the correct coverage, scale, edition and format. Print-on-demand converts a digital public asset into a practical field or wall product.

The strongest mapping system needs all three.

Read New AUSTopo 250K Geoscience Maps for Australia and Mapworld and Government.

9. Tourism Still Begins with Geographic Understanding

Tourism is increasingly bought through digital platforms, but a booking system is not a geographic education.

A traveller may book:

• a flight;

• five hotels;

• a hire car;

• a cruise;

• a rail pass;

• multiple tours;

without ever seeing the complete journey at a useful scale.

That creates an opportunity for tourism organisations.

Maps Work Before, During and After a Journey

Stage	Mapping role
Before travel	Inspiration, itinerary design, realistic distances and route comparison
During travel	Orientation, wayfinding, regional dispersal, safety and discovery
After travel	Memory, storytelling, display and a permanent record of place

A good destination map can help a visitor understand:

• where the region begins and ends;

• how major attractions relate to one another;

• which journeys are realistic in one day;

• where roads, tracks, ferries and railways connect;

• where services become sparse;

• why landscape and settlement patterns differ;

• which lesser-known towns lie naturally along the route.

The Post-COVID International Rebound Matters

Mapworld’s surge in international-map demand is consistent with the return of Australian outbound travel.

The implication for tourism CEOs, travel agencies, airlines, cruise operators and conference organisers is not that every customer wants a folded map.

It is that customers still need a coherent picture of the destination.

That picture might be delivered through:

• a large wall map in a travel agency or visitor centre;

• a printed regional touring map;

• a route map in a cruise document;

• a conference map showing venues and transport;

• a digital map with an offline download;

• a QR code linking paper to current information;

• a map used by staff to explain an itinerary face to face.

What Tourism Mapping Often Gets Wrong

Many promotional maps are attractive but geographically weak.

Common problems include:

• no scale;

• decorative routes that are not navigable;

• missing road hierarchy;

• distances that appear misleading;

• unclear north orientation;

• too few surrounding towns;

• no edition or update date;

• no distinction between sealed roads and tracks;

• no connection to current closure information;

• an attempt to place every attraction on one crowded page.

A tourism map should not be reduced to a collection of icons.

It should help a visitor make a better decision.

Tourism organisations should maintain a layered approach:

1. a clear regional overview;

2. detailed local or town mapping;

3. current digital information;

4. an offline or printable option;

5. explicit source and edition information.

Browse Mapworld’s international maps, Australian maps, world wall maps and wall maps of countries and regions. Read Mapworld and the Travel Industry.

10. Emergency Preparedness Requires Both Currency and Redundancy

Emergency mapping has advanced enormously.

Modern incident management can combine:

• satellite imagery;

• fire and flood extents;

• weather;

• road closures;

• property and population exposure;

• evacuation zones;

• assets and infrastructure;

• field reports;

• vehicle and aircraft locations.

Geoscience Australia reports that it produced more than 14,000 exposure reports during the Black Summer bushfires and developed national near-real-time bushfire-extent datasets to support response and planning.

Live geographic intelligence saves time and supports better decisions.

But emergency planning also assumes that systems may be degraded.

Power fails. Telecommunications become congested. Devices break. Staff rotate. Different agencies arrive with different systems. A rapidly changing digital common operating picture may not be available to every person who needs it.

The Public Preparedness Layer

For households, travellers and bushwalkers, a resilient mapping kit may include:

• current official warnings;

• an offline mapping application;

• a charged phone and power bank;

• a suitable paper road or topographic map;

• a compass and the skill to use it;

• written route and emergency information;

• a PLB or satellite communicator where appropriate.

The correct mix depends on the activity.

A suburban evacuation plan, offshore passage and remote desert crossing do not require the same map.

The Organisational Preparedness Layer

Emergency services, councils, utilities, mines and large organisations should consider:

• print-ready incident maps at multiple scales;

• offline copies of critical spatial data;

• a visible edition and timestamp;

• consistent coordinates and grids;

• standard symbols;

• wall maps for shared briefings;

• field maps suitable for weather and repeated handling;

• procedures for updating annotations;

• defined digital and non-digital backups.

The answer is not to print every live layer and call it preparedness.

It is to decide in advance which geographic information must remain usable when the preferred system is unavailable.

Mapworld supplies topographic maps, wall maps, marine charts, compasses and navigation equipment for different operational settings.

Read Mapworld and the Emergency Services.

11. Customer Demand Has Moved from “A Map” to “The Right Map”

The old mass market was built around products that almost everyone recognised:

• the city street directory;

• the national road atlas;

• the glovebox road map;

• the in-car GPS.

The 2026 market is more segmented.

Customer	Typical need in 2026
International traveller	National and regional overview used with a phone and current travel advice
Australian road traveller	Road atlas, state map, regional touring map and offline navigation
4WD traveller	Specialist track mapping, detailed guidebooks, GPS and topographic context
Bushwalker	Current topographic map, compass, offline app and emergency communications
Teacher	Wall maps, globes, atlases, topographic examples and digital spatial tools
Government or emergency user	Authoritative data, printable maps, wall displays and operational redundancy
Business	Postcode, electoral, mining, healthcare or custom territory maps
Home customer	World, Australia, historical or travel map chosen for information and display
Collector or researcher	Historical editions, vintage National Geographic maps and historical charts

This changes the role of the specialist retailer.

The key questions are no longer simply:

• Do you have a map?

• How much does it cost?

They are:

• What exactly does it cover?

• What scale is it?

• When was it updated?

• Is it suitable for navigation?

• Is it waterproof?

• Can it be laminated?

• Will it fit the wall?

• Can it be written on?

• Does it show the required boundary?

• Are adjoining sheets needed?

• Is there a better map for the task?

That is why a very large range matters.

The correct product for a customer may be a current Hema road atlas, a Geoscience Australia topographic sheet, a Michelin map of France, an official marine chart, a laminated postcode map, a globe, a historical reproduction or a flag for an institutional display.

Mapping demand has not become uniform.

It has become more specific.

12. Where Mapping Is Heading

Several trends are likely to define the remainder of the decade.

1. Mapping Will Become More Invisible

More decisions will be location-enabled without users opening an application called a map.

Algorithms will use mapping to:

• route deliveries;

• price insurance;

• assess hazards;

• allocate services;

• operate vehicles and machinery;

• analyse customers;

• monitor environments;

• plan infrastructure.

This increases the importance of transparency. People should be able to know which data, boundaries and assumptions shaped a decision.

2. Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Interface, Not the Need for Authority

Users will increasingly ask mapping systems questions in ordinary language:

• Which towns can I reach within four hours?

• What communities are exposed if this road closes?

• Which route avoids unsealed roads?

• Show the service gap between these regions.

AI can make spatial information easier to interrogate.

It can also produce confident errors.

Operational maps must remain grounded in authoritative geospatial data, explicit coordinates, current sources and reproducible analysis. A plausible-looking generated map is not a substitute for GIS, cartography or field verification.

3. Positioning Will Become More Precise

Geoscience Australia’s Southern Positioning Augmentation Network is designed to improve positioning from conventional accuracy of approximately five to ten metres to as little as ten centimetres, including in regional and remote areas without relying on mobile coverage for the corrected satellite signal.

This will support:

• agriculture;

• surveying;

• transport;

• construction;

• resources;

• emergency operations;

• future location-based services.

Greater positional precision does not remove the need for geographic literacy.

Knowing a coordinate to ten centimetres is not the same as understanding the landscape around it.

4. Print-on-Demand Will Preserve Specialist Mapping

Large traditional print runs are poorly suited to thousands of map sheets with uneven demand.

Print-on-demand allows a map to be produced:

• when required;

• at an appropriate size;

• on paper, synthetic media or canvas;

• as a single sheet rather than a warehouse quantity;

• from an updated digital source.

This model is particularly important for:

• topographic maps;

• historical maps;

• low-volume regional products;

• large wall maps;

• government and commercial requirements;

• custom operational mapping.

Digital source files and physical output are not opposing systems.

Print-on-demand is the bridge between them.

5. Paper Will Become More Premium and More Purposeful

Generic paper products will continue to face pressure.

Products with a clear function will remain:

• waterproof field maps;

• authoritative topographic sheets;

• well-edited travel maps;

• large wall maps;

• laminated write-on maps;

• historical reproductions;

• beautiful atlases and globes;

• maps connected to personal journeys.

The paper map of the future is less disposable.

It is more likely to be selected, used and retained deliberately.

6. Provenance Will Become a Selling Point

As digital information becomes easier to generate, users will place greater value on knowing:

• who made the map;

• which data it uses;

• when it was updated;

• what scale it supports;

• what it leaves out;

• whether it is authoritative for the task.

The value of a map will increasingly include confidence in its origin.

7. The Industry Will Have Fewer Generalists and Deeper Specialists

The number of physical specialist shops is unlikely to return to its twentieth-century peak.

The businesses that remain will need:

• national online reach;

• deep stock;

• specialist advice;

• print and finishing capability;

• direct publisher relationships;

• strong product information;

• the ability to serve government, education, business and consumers;

• succession planning that preserves knowledge.

The likely future is not a large number of small general map racks.

It is a smaller number of serious specialists connected to a much larger digital mapping economy.

What Is Likely to Decline and What Is Likely to Grow

Likely to decline	Likely to grow
Mass-market standalone in-car GPS	Specialist offline and remote navigation
Generic undifferentiated road maps	Edited maps designed for a clear journey or audience
Large speculative print runs	Print-on-demand and short-run production
Map products with no visible edition or source	Provenance, metadata and authoritative data
Passive dependence on one navigation system	Layered paper, offline and live-information workflows
General retail map racks	Specialist national retailers and direct online access
Static digital maps with no update pathway	Live layers, Digital Atlas services and spatial analysis
Decorative maps with poor geography	Wall maps that combine information, design and purpose

13. A Mapping Agenda for Australia

If mapping is treated as national capability rather than a narrow retail category, several priorities follow.

For Government

• maintain authoritative national and state spatial datasets;

• keep public interfaces usable by non-specialists;

• retain printable and offline outputs;

• preserve previous editions;

• make dates, sources and limitations visible;

• invest in interoperability across jurisdictions;

• embed First Nations data governance;

• treat mapping skills and geospatial workforce capability as infrastructure.

For Tourism Leaders

• commission maps that explain a destination rather than merely decorate it;

• show distance, scale, road hierarchy and surrounding context;

• maintain paper, digital and offline options;

• connect visitor maps to current closures and official advice;

• use maps to encourage safe regional dispersal;

• place useful wall maps in visitor centres, briefing rooms and customer-facing spaces.

For Educators

• teach paper and digital mapping together;

• give students repeated practice with scale, direction, projection, symbols and source evaluation;

• keep a world map and Australia map visible;

• use globes, atlases, topographic maps, historical maps and GIS for different purposes;

• treat geographic literacy as part of numeracy, data literacy and citizenship.

For Emergency Managers and Organisations

• define mapping redundancy before an incident;

• maintain current print-ready and offline resources;

• prepare multiple scales for strategic, operational and field use;

• make coordinate systems, editions and timestamps explicit;

• ensure people are trained to use the backup, not merely supplied with it.

For Publishers and Retailers

• preserve specialist knowledge;

• invest in product metadata and honest suitability advice;

• adopt print-on-demand where it improves availability;

• plan succession early;

• avoid treating paper and digital as mutually exclusive;

• keep slow-selling but nationally important products discoverable.

For Map Users

Before relying on any map, ask:

1. Who produced it?

2. When was it updated?

3. What scale does it use?

4. What has it been designed to do?

5. What current information should be checked separately?

6. What is the independent backup?

Those six questions are a practical definition of modern map literacy.

14. Mapworld’s Place in the 2026 Mapping Landscape

Mapworld is not a neutral observer of the map industry.

It sells maps and geographic products.

That commercial interest should be stated openly. It is also the reason the business has an unusual longitudinal view across categories that are rarely analysed together:

• Australian travel maps;

• international travel maps;

• topographic mapping;

• wall maps;

• marine charts;

• GPS and navigation;

• education;

• government;

• historical cartography;

• globes, flags and compasses.

For more than three decades, Mapworld has seen customers move:

• from street directories to smartphone routing;

• from mass-market GPS to specialist offline systems;

• from overseas travel collapse to record outbound movement;

• from temporary wall-map interest to sustained demand;

• from general map shops to national online specialisation;

• from large publisher print runs to digital files and print-on-demand.

Mapworld has navigated that transition to become Australia’s largest map shop, with a range designed to answer both common and highly specific geographic enquiries.

Mapworld Collection Directory

Need	Collection
Australian road, touring and regional maps	Maps of Australia
International travel maps and atlases	International maps
Australian topographic mapping	Topographic maps
New national 1:250,000 series	AUSTopo 1:250,000 maps
Hema road, 4WD, atlas and GPS products	Hema Maps
World, Australia, state and themed wall maps	Wall maps
Political and physical maps of the world	World wall maps
Australia and Asia-Pacific wall maps	Australasia wall maps
Country, continent and regional wall maps	Wall maps of countries and regions
School maps, globes and learning resources	Educational products
Desktop, illuminated and floor globes	Globes
Marine navigation	Marine charts and accessories
Field and navigation compasses	Compasses
Specialist navigation equipment	Navigational equipment
Australian, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and international flags	Flags
Historical cartography	Historical wall maps
Original and collectible map editions	Vintage National Geographic maps
Historical marine cartography	Historical charts
Business and service territories	Postcode maps
Political and local-government boundaries	Electoral maps
Resources and tenement mapping	Mining and resources maps

The purpose is not to preserve paper for its own sake.

It is to preserve access to the right geographic tool—paper, digital or both—for the task in front of the customer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are paper maps really making a comeback in Australia?

Mapworld has experienced a clear renaissance in demand for physical maps, especially wall maps and international travel maps. This should be understood as a selective recovery rather than a return to universal glovebox mapping. Customers are choosing paper for overview, planning, education, display, resilience and ownership while continuing to use digital navigation.

Did COVID permanently change map demand?

Yes. International-map demand collapsed when overseas travel stopped, then rebounded sharply after borders reopened. Wall-map demand surged during COVID and remained strong afterwards. Demand for Australian mapping was comparatively stable. COVID did not create every trend, but it accelerated changes in how customers used homes, offices, classrooms and travel-planning tools.

Has the dedicated GPS market disappeared?

No. Its mass-market demand is below the peak Mapworld observed around 2017, but dedicated GPS remains useful for specialist touring, 4WD and offline applications. The category shifted from a mainstream navigation purchase to a more deliberate specialist purchase.

Is a paper map safer than a phone?

Not automatically. A current paper map can provide independent context without power or reception, but it cannot show a closure that occurred yesterday. A phone can deliver live warnings but may fail through battery, damage, missing downloads or network dependence. Safety comes from current information, appropriate scale, user skill and planned redundancy.

Is government still producing Australian topographic maps?

Yes. Geoscience Australia completed nationwide release of the digital AUSTopo 1:250,000 series in March 2026. The 516-sheet series is free to download, printable and available for offline use. Other Commonwealth and state map series continue, but their scale, coverage and currency vary.

Why do wall maps remain popular when large screens exist?

A wall map is persistent, shared and immediately visible. It can support teaching, travel planning, operations, territories and decoration without requiring an application or presentation. Its value lies partly in occupying a large visual field and remaining present over time.

What should every Australian student learn about maps?

Students should be able to interpret scale, direction, coordinates, symbols, terrain, projection, spatial patterns, sources and edition dates. They should be able to move between a globe, paper map, topographic sheet, satellite image and digital spatial layer, understanding what each form can and cannot show.

What is the future of specialist map retail?

The likely model is national online reach combined with deep stock, specialist advice, print-on-demand and a smaller physical footprint. General map retail has contracted, but complex users still need help selecting the correct scale, coverage, edition and format.

Related Mapworld Articles

Continue reading with:

• GPS vs Paper Maps: Why Paper Maps Still Matter in a Digital World

• GPS Disruption in Australia: Why Paper Maps Matter

• The Decline of Map Reading Skills—and Why It Matters

• How Maps Improve Spatial Thinking

• Why Specialist Map Shops Remain Important in Australia

• Where to Buy Maps in Australia: The Complete Guide

• New AUSTopo 250K Geoscience Maps for Australia

• Mapworld and Government

• Mapworld and the Emergency Services

• Mapworld and the Travel Industry

• Mapworld and Schools

• The Best Wall Maps of Australia

• The Best World Wall Maps for the Home

• Australian Topographic Map Symbols Explained

Selected Sources and Further Reading

• ACIL Allen, Economic Impact of Geospatial Services in Australia, prepared for the Geospatial Council of Australia, 2024.

• Geoscience Australia, Australia’s Full National Topographic Library at Your Fingertips, 31 March 2026.

• Geoscience Australia, Topographic Maps, updated 18 March 2026.

• Geoscience Australia, Digital Atlas of Australia.

• Geoscience Australia, National Location Information Capabilities.

• Geoscience Australia, Southern Positioning Augmentation Network, updated May 2026.

• Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping, ICSM Role and Framework Datasets.

• Australian Bureau of Statistics, Resident Returns—Calendar Year 2020.

• Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia—2024–25 Financial Year.

• Australian Government, International Border Reopening Announcement, 7 February 2022.

• Tourism Research Australia, National Tourism Satellite Account 2024–25.

• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, Humanities and Social Sciences—Version 9.

• NSW National Parks, Bushwalking Safety.

• National Indigenous Australians Agency, Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data.

• Australian Recording Industry Association, Recorded Music Grows in 2025, 19 March 2026.

• NielsenIQ, Looking Back at 2024 in Australia and New Zealand, 27 March 2025.

• ABC News, Australia to Lose One of Few Remaining Cartography Businesses as The Map Shop Prepares to Close, 14 April 2026.

• Fremantle Herald, Charting a New Course, 1 May 2026.

Final Thoughts

Australia has not become less dependent on maps.

It has become more dependent on mapping while becoming less conscious of the map.

The country’s roads, properties, hazards, services, supply chains, aircraft, vessels and public decisions increasingly rely on location information. The economic value of geospatial services is rising. Government data is becoming more open and interactive. Satellite positioning is becoming more precise. Artificial intelligence will make spatial questions easier to ask.

But none of those developments removes the need to understand:

• scale;

• direction;

• terrain;

• distance;

• source;

• edition;

• authority;

• uncertainty;

• the wider picture.

The future is not paper instead of digital.

It is not digital instead of paper.

It is live information for change, authoritative data for confidence, physical maps for overview and resilience, and educated people capable of judging all three.

A person following a blue line may reach the destination. A person who can read the map understands the journey.

That distinction is where the future of mapping in Australia should begin.

By Christopher O’Keeffe
Managing Director, Mapworld Australia

Christopher O’Keeffe has worked in the Australian specialist map industry through the transition from street directories and dedicated GPS to ecommerce, digital government mapping, print-on-demand and the renewed demand for paper and wall maps. Contact Mapworld for media, conference, government, education and industry enquiries.

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