Twelve Apostles visitors to be charged entry fee to see natural wonder | Victoria

Tourists will soon have to pay an entrance fee to see the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

The Victorian Government will on Monday announce fees for tourists to visit the $126 million Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, which is due to open in late 2026.

Although only seven limestone stacks remain of the original 12 – erosion having caused many of them to collapse over time – this natural wonder is incredibly popular with tourists. According to Development Victoria, 2.8 million people visited the Twelve Apostles in 2019, with the figure expected to rise to 4 million this year.

The entrance fee to see the Twelve Apostles is not yet known and will be decided after consultation with stakeholders. The government said people living near the site and members of the Eastern Maar indigenous community will not be charged.

The Great Ocean Road Parks and Coastal Authority, which will operate the new visitor center, will also raise the funds. He said “the fees will be consistent with other popular natural attractions across the country which have had entry fees for some time”.

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State Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the funds would be used to improve beach access and visitor facilities and maintain historic monuments.

“The Twelve Apostles is visited by more than 2 million people each year and the Great Ocean Road is visited by more than 6 million people – and we want even more people to come and enjoy it,” he said.

“We are investing in the future of the Great Ocean Road region and ensuring every penny spent in the region stays there.

“It is only right that visitors to the region pay a small fee to visit this world-class destination so that we can preserve it for future generations. »

The Great Ocean Road Parks and Coastal Authority said the funds could also be spent on upgrading and improving caravan parks and campsites, as well as bush walkways, walks and trails, lookouts, barbecues and tables on the foreshore.

The authority said a visitor reservation system will also be put in place to avoid overcrowding and guarantee parking at peak times. Adopting a reservation system would also benefit local businesses, as it would encourage tourists to stay longer and explore the area.

Corangamite County Council and the Great Ocean Road Regional Tourist Board issued a joint statement in September urging the State Government to introduce a user-pay model for visiting the site, to coincide with the opening of the visitor centre.

At the time, they said a fee of between $10 and $20 would help manage crowds and protect the coastal environment.

The introduction of an entrance fee was welcomed by Lisa Patroni, chief executive of the Victoria Tourism Industry Council, who said it was “well overdue” and would make the attraction safer while improving the visitor experience.

“It’s an incredible coastline, but it’s also very fragile, so you only have one lane and people park along the shoulder, which has never been possible for cars,” Patroni said.

“There’s all these traffic visits, no paths, pedestrians trying to get out of their cars. It’s lucky, to be honest, that they haven’t had more incidents.”

Patroni said the fee would also help control visitor numbers. Around the world, she explained, high-demand natural attractions typically manage crowds through ticketing, reservation systems or parking fees.

“It’s just not the way we traditionally do things in Victoria, but it’s not new around the world,” she said.

“Although local people may be wondering how this is going to work for them, internationally it will fail because it is what they are used to. »

The government said fees are currently in place to ensure the preservation of other popular and world-renowned destinations in Australia, including Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Kosciuszko National Park and Wineglass Bay Lookout.