State minister for environment, climate change and water Lisa Neville unveiled the Shipwreck Coast tourism masterplan on Wednesday, starting the long-term project to develop the region.

The masterplan covers from the Bay Of Islands west of Peterborough to Point Ronald east of Princetown.

The plan states that “from a visitor’s perspective, the Shipwreck Coast, while clearly a world-class attraction, currently over promises and under delivers”.

“There is a stark and widening gap between what people are looking for as a world-class experience and what is being offered (in) park infrastructure, accommodation, access to local produce, the logistics of getting to the coast, navigating and interpreting it,” it states. 

“This leads to a low return for the local and regional economy and little benefit for the local communities.”

As a response, the masterplan proposes 72 initiatives to be “implemented over time by federal, state and local government, the private sector and community” at a cost “of $178 million over a 20-year period”.

It is expected to yield economic benefits worth $527 million, create 2300 jobs in the Great Ocean Road region, a $254 million increase in annual visitor spending along the Great Ocean Road, and will require 2100 new beds in the region.

An “immediate investment” will be made into a $4.4 million sewer pipeline to connect toilets at the Twelve Apostles to the Port Campbell treatment plant to help cope with the iconic location’s increasing popularity. The toilets were subject to an Environment Protection Authority is investigation earlier this year due to an alleged excessive discharge of waste water.

Key initiatives in the Shipwreck Coast masterplan include: