A controversial tourist tax is being introduced for the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.
The Victorian government is imposing a fee for visitors to the new Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, due to open at the end of this year.
The amount tourists will be charged is subject to consultation with local councils, traditional owners and businesses in the south-west of the state.
But Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said locals and members of the Eastern Maar community would not be slugged.
“It’s only fair that visitors to the region pay a small fee to visit this world-class destination so that we can maintain it for future generations,” Mr Dimopoulos said.
He said the money raised by the entry fee would be collected by the Great Ocean Road Parks and Coastal Authority to support upgrades to beach access and visitor facilities, and maintain historic landmarks.
“We’re investing in the future of the Great Ocean Road region and making sure every single cent spent in the region stays there,” Mr Dimopoulos said.
The money will be used to upgrade beach access and visitor facilities, and maintain landmarks. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)
More than 6 million tourists visit the Great Ocean Road each year, and 2 million of them visit the Twelve Apostles.
A visitor booking system will also be introduced to manage visitation numbers and guarantee parking at peak times.
The government said the plan was not dissimilar to entry fees that applied at other world-renowned destinations, including Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Kosciuszko National Park and Wineglass Bay Lookout.
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism chairman Andrew Jeffers says the board supports the fee and new booking system.
“We want a world-class visitor experience, and those things are essential for that outcome,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism says the fee is needed to help manage the thousands of people who visit the site each year. (ABC News: Jean Bell)
Mr Jeffers said the fee would help with the upkeep of the recently constructed $128 million visitor centre
“No one likes being charged for something that was free in the past, we acknowledge that.
“If you think about six million visitors a year, that’s 16,000 visitors a day. That needs to be managed.
“This is a fee for the visitor centre that’s being proposed. It doesn’t limit their access to other parts of the Great Ocean Road. There’s no fee being proposed for that.”