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So-called “ghost camping”, where people reserve a spot in Victorian parks but don’t turn up, has declined this summer after a much-criticised free camping scheme was ditched, but Wilsons Promontory regulars want further changes to the booking system for the state’s most popular campground.
Tidal River is busier than last year, when holidaymakers were able to reserve sites for free but not turn up without any penalty, leaving spots empty while others missed out as the campground was ostensibly full.
Loyal Wilsons Prom campers Matt Vigus with baby Augustus, Beatrix Vigus, Molly Hodgson, Violet Vigus and Cullen Smith. Credit: Jason South
Despite improvements, the Prom Campers Association wants Parks Victoria to reintroduce a ballot system for allocating the campground’s 484 spots over peak periods.
“The ballot system would bring some equity back,” said committee member Matt Vigus, “so it’s not just a race of who can log on quicker.”
First-come, first-served online booking was introduced at Tidal River for the 2023/24 summer, replacing a system of campers submitting applications for specific dates and waiting for a random draw.
The first year of the new system was marred by a website crash and data breach. The second year was smoother online, but was ultimately blighted by unused sites when summer hit.
A vacant lot at the Tidal River campground, which is busier than last year, but some believe could be fuller.Credit: Jason South
This year, Parks Victoria reintroduced half-price booking fees to reduce ghost camping, but told The Age it was unable to compare booking numbers with last summer under the free camping initiative as the time period was different.
Prom Campers Association (PCA) president Madeleine Farrelly said pricing helped ensure people who booked at Tidal River were committed.
“It’s noticeably fuller, and we believe that is a direct result of charging for sites,” she said. “But demand far outweighs supply at the Prom, and the ballot system feels much more fair and equitable.”
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The campers’ association said the online rush in June to reserve summer sites – likened to buying tickets for a Taylor Swift concert – disadvantaged less tech-savvy people and advantaged those who had the time and capacity to set up multiple screens to get in and book.
Parks Victoria said the first-in system gives campers flexibility to book the specific sites they want, on the dates they want, close to friends and family.
PCA vice president Molly Hodgson, however, said demand for Tidal River was so great over summer that campers didn’t care what specific site they got, they just wanted a fair go at getting a spot.
A ballot, she said, would provide adequate time to submit applications before a fair, randomised draw. Rangers could then better assign sites to suit different campers – from a solo hiker with a small tent to a large family with a caravan – and use limited campground space more efficiently.
“Instead, people just jump on and take whatever they get,” she said of the current system.
Tidal River at Wilsons Promontory in 2018.
Parks Victoria, however, said there were no plans to reintroduce the ballot for Tidal River.
A spokesperson said campground bookings were “very strong” across the state and most sites were fully booked to the end of summer. A total of 194,797 nights have been booked since reservations opened in July, they added.
Nationals MP Tim Bull, a critic of last year’s free camping scheme, says ghost camping in his East Gippsland electorate had eased with the return of pricing.
“There might be a few vacancies towards the end of the holiday season, but this time last year, there were vacant campsites everywhere of people who booked and didn’t turn up, and that’s not the case now,” he said.
Caravan and Residential Parks Victoria chief executive Scott Parker said the state government’s free camping scheme was also unfair and anti-competitive for private caravan park operators.
He suggested the return of pricing for state-owned campgrounds helped boost occupancy rates in private caravan parks for cabins (up 5 per cent) and powered sites (up 3 per cent) in December.
“This is a strong indication that the government’s abandonment of free camping in Parks Victoria campgrounds has helped rectify some of the damage the ridiculous initiative caused private park operators,” he said.
Jordan Crook, a campaigner at the Victoria National Parks Association, agreed sites were slightly fuller, but worried cuts to Parks Victoria’s funding and half-price booking meant park management was underresourced.
Parks Victoria, meanwhile, said sites were still available this summer in the Grampians, Little Desert, and at Thurra River in Gippsland.
“And if you prefer a more spontaneous trip, there are more than 1000 free campgrounds in national and state parks across the state,” a spokesperson said.
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