Ghost bookings scuttle state's free camping initiative: 'It's been a disaster'
It was billed as a cost-of-living measure aimed at making holidaying domestically more affordable for Aussie families, but free camping in Victoria will not be renewed in July after the initiative was found to be of "no benefit" to regional communities and the local tourism economy.
Originally announced in October 2024, the state government scheme made camping free at all sites across Victoria. However it's since been plagued by issues, namely ghosting camping — a growing issue reported at campgrounds across the country — and by complaints of illegal rubbish dumping.
Nationals member for eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, whose electorate includes national park land has even branded the free camping initiative "systematically flawed" and said it "had been a disaster on a number of levels". Meanwhile national parks authorities have backed the end of free camping and endorsed a move towards a 50 per cent reduction in booking fees.
A camper who attended the Jamieson Creek Campground along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria in April said he was shocked to find it totally vacant, despite claiming it was fully booked on the Parks Victoria online booking system. "It was really strange as I was expecting it to be full... the only resident there was a wallaby in a fire pit eating someone's leftovers," camper Ross Edwards told Yahoo News Australia.
Industry experts say the main problem with the program is the fact it was rolled out without any enforcement. Aussie couple Michelle and her husband Heatley, who own a free camping guide app, criticised the lack of management involved in the free camping policy.
"If you're going to introduce a new policy, then you need to manage it. They can't just put their hands up without an answer [to ghost booking] and say it's not their responsibility," they told Yahoo recently. "There needs to be boots on the ground to have it managed effectively and address ghost bookings. Otherwise, they aren't achieving the desired outcome at all."
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Caravan and Residential Parks Victoria chief executive Scott Parker agrees, saying the unfortunate outcome over the summer months was foreseeable.
"And it was clearly communicated by the association to the government during the policy's implementation," he said. "It was contrary to the principles of the government's own competitive neutrality policy," he told the ABC this week as the state government announced the policy would not continue.
Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel also told the national broadcaster that the free camping initiative had created problems for the local industry. "The fact that people are paying a fee means that they're more likely to turn up," he said.
In this week's budget, the Victorian government announced the reinstatement of half-price camping at Parks Victoria's 131 paid, government-run campgrounds, running from July through until June 2027.
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