Twelve Apostles tourist fee: Should we have to pay to visit natural icons?
It was announced today that a tourist tax will soon be implemented on the iconic Twelve Apostles on Victoria's Great Ocean Road.
Tourist fees and taxes aren't new - just a few months ago, the city of Rome imposed a fee for anyone wanting to get up close to the famous Trevi Fountain.
But should we be paying to see something that's just sitting out there in nature?
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The Twelve Apostles will soon have a 'tourist tax'. Getty
To be fair, the Twelve Apostles 'tax' will be a fee to enter the new $126 million Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, set to open by the end of the year.
The area sees about two million visitors a year - about 16,000 per day - and the charge would go toward preserving the area and protecting it from overtourism.
But there are plenty of other rocks in the sea along the Victorian coastline. Why should we pay to visit these? Because they're famous?
Bondi Beach gets nearly three million visitors each year, but there's no fee that needs to be paid to go on the sand.
The iconic Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains near Sydney are also just out there in the open, free for anyone to take a look at too
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There's no fee to visit Bondi Beach. iStock
Other famous natural landmarks in Australia charge fees: a three-day park pass to see Uluru will cost you $38, and most national parks require daily vehicle passes.
For the most part, these fees go toward preserving these natural wonders. They have parking lots, rubbish bins, fences, stairs, lookouts, picnic areas, and toilets that require maintenance and upkeep.
When natural spots get high foot traffic, it can have a real impact on the local ecosystem, so sometimes entry fees, or even visitor limits, are necessary to help mitigate this.
Wilsons Promontory National Park, also in Victoria, doesn't have an entry fee - but caps daily visitor numbers to help combat overtourism.
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On the other hand, one could argue limiting access to natural sites by applying taxes or fees is restricting our freedom. Shouldn't public land be there for everyone to enjoy, not be turned into commercial opportunities?
Entry fees can also restrict access for peple who don't have much spare cash, making nature feel like a private commodity rather than a right that we're all entitled to.
And if there is a fee, should it not go to the traditional owners of the land, rather than the government, and allow them to manage funds as they see fit?
The Victorian government argues the Twelve Apostles 'tax' is "only fair".
"We're investing in the future of the Great Ocean Road region and making sure every single cent spent in the region stays there," Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said.
The Great Ocean Road attracts millions each year. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Perhaps the answer is simply that fees and taxes are simply just a part of life - if we want to see the Twelve Apostles we have to stick to the rules and pay up.
Thankfully, there are plenty of other beautiful parts of this country that remain largely untouched by mass tourism, just waiting out there to be explored.
