Record numbers visit Twelve Apostles in December

AN ESTIMATED 260,000 people visited the Twelve Apostles during December, the highest monthly amount since traffic counters were installed in 2015.

The visitors arrived in more than 40,000 cars, 6,000 Coaster buses and 500 coaches, with more than 15,000 people – the highest daily number since Christmas Day 2018 – visiting the famous coastal limestone formation during the month’s busiest day, December 29.

Parks Victoria says the agency is pleased with how the visitors and traffic have been managed, with speed limit reductions, traffic controllers, roadside barriers, message boards and additional parking working to reduce congestion and ensure pedestrian safety.

This visitor and traffic management plan has now been implemented around the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge for several years, operating during peak periods such as the Christmas week, Easter, and the Grand Final and Melbourne Cup long weekends.

With the Australia Day public holiday and Chinese New Year celebrations expected to again draw tens of thousands to the region from Saturday, January 25 onwards, the visitor and traffic management will remain in place until February 9.

The Chinese New Year festival is the biggest event on Melbourne’s Chinese calendar, featuring two weeks of celebration and festivities. Many families and groups enjoy the festival period by visiting regional Victoria, with the Twelve Apostles being a favourite destination.

China is Victoria’s biggest international visitor market, with tourism figures showing more than 666,000 people arrived during the year to June 2019, spending $3.2 billion.
In 2019, about 126,000 people visited the Twelve Apostles during Chinese New Year.

“It’s been a big start to summer in the Port Campbell National Park, with traffic controllers, Park Rangers and Victoria Police working hard to ensure safe and enjoyable visits to this special part of Victoria,” Parks Victoria area chief ranger Michael Smith said.

“With further busy periods approaching, I’d again encourage visitors to plan ahead, take care, and observe signage and the direction of Parks Victoria staff.”