THE Loxton community’s last-ditch effort to return the town’s Visitor Information Centre (VIC) to its former residence has failed to gain traction with the local council.
More than 700 locals signed a new petition, calling for the VIC to return to the Bookpurnong Terrace facility following the District Council of Loxton Waikerie’s decision to keep the building’s community land status in April.
Petition co-ordinator Jan Cass said the council had asked for expressions of interest on what to do with the VIC, and the community had responded “loud and clear”.
“A majority of the people want the visitor information centre at the roundabout where it’s very visible and the tourists can find it,” she said.
“Parking is easy there, and it’s important that we have somebody – a specialist tourist person – who promotes the town and gets tourism going.
“It’s extremely important for many of the businesses in Loxton, especially those that deal with tourism – the Loxton Historical Village, The Pines, and the Riverland Wine Centre at Pike River.
“We are, after all, a restricted tourism destination and we need to promote ourselves very wisely, otherwise we become a big secret.”
However, the District Council of Loxton Waikerie has remained firm on its decision to keep the VIC centre where it stands, and instead, said it would look at addressing its digital presence to support the town’s tourism online.
District Council of Loxton Waikerie CEO David Beaton said more people were accessing information for their travel decisions through smart devices such as telephones, tablets or laptops, and it was now a driving factor in towns’ tourism numbers.
“The explanation of the variance (in tourism numbers) is the change in the way people access information for their travel decisions and how they engage in the visitor economy,” he said.
“This is supported by the increase for free Wi-Fi provided at accommodation and public spaces, businesses having strong social media presences and website that allows visitors to directly book on-line.
“This is evidenced by the council now having separate Facebook and websites for the council, libraries, visitor information and the Loxton Caravan Holiday Park.”
Mr Beaton said a number of other changes had occurred since the VIC was originally located at the old fire station, including a withdrawal of financial support for VICs and regional guides.
As a result, changes to the current structure of the VIC would have a negative impact of an estimated $230,000 per annum or nearly $1 million over four years.
Mr Beaton said the new model, however, would save ratepayers considerable funds and allow council to provide a rare seven day a week library service.
“The new service is not perfect as an already cramped library has to give up some valuable space for the tourist displays and provides increased emphasis to look at expanding the space available,” he said.
“A stand-alone facility was the correct model when it was established and served the community well, but future investments into tourism need to be targeted and provide a good return on
that investment.
“While not supporting a change to the current arrangement, tourism as an economic driver will be important as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed and the local economy looks to rebound, where investment in measures to support the local tourism sector will be important.
“A future report is warranted as to how council will adapt to the changing conditions to maximise the benefit to the region.”
The District Council of Loxton Waikerie has discussed expressions of interests for the former VIC site, and an announcement on what will replace it is expected in the near future.