VISITORS to the Twelve Apostles should be charged an entrance fee to pay for improved facilities, according to Vote1 Local Jobs.
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Party leader James Purcell called for a $10 fee for every visitor entering the Port Campbell landmark and said major natural attractions both domestically and abroad charged tourists.
The Port Fairy accountant claimed the fee would generate enough cash to create a $20 million tourism fund for 50 new rangers and upgrade facilities.
“We have thousands of visitors head to the Twelve Apostles each week but the economic spin-off is very small,” Mr Purcell said.
“They might buy something to eat if you’re lucky before they head back to Melbourne. Given we have two million visitors at the Twelve Apostles each year, a $10 admission fee would raise $20 million each year. That’s far and above what we’re getting at the moment.”
Adult visitors to Uluru have to pay $25 for a three-day pass to the central Australian landmark, while children are admitted free.
Internationally, visitors to Stonehenge in Great Britain have to pay nearly $A25 per person to walk around the prehistoric monument. Visiting the Grand Canyon site in the United States is less expensive at about $A9 per person, while Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher attracts a similar fee.
“They charge for visitors to check out Uluru and you have to pay some sort of fee at a lot of places overseas,” Mr Purcell said. “Most of the people who go to the Twelve Apostles are international visitors that have paid a few thousand dollars to come here, so $10 extra isn’t much.”
alex.sinnott@fairfaxmedia.com.au