Part 1 - Shire of Ashburton

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Shire of Ashburton Tourism Strategy January 2011 When asked how much money does the VIC receive from local government the following breakdown of responses were received. How much money do you receive from local government $100,000 to $150,000 pa $75,000 to $99,999 pa $50,000 to $74,999 pa $25,000 to $49,999 pa less than $25,000 pa nil 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% source: Visitor Centre Association of Western Australia March 2003 While over 40% of the 47 visitor information centres surveyed indicated that they receive less than $25,000 per annum from local government, over 15% receive between $100,000 to $150,000 on an annual basis. A separate study undertaken by the WA Tourism Commission found that on average local government’s contribution to VICs constituted around 32% of the VIC’s annual expenditure. These studies highlight the importance of local government involvement in the operation of local VICs around the state. Various other studies into VICs around Australia have found the following characteristics are important to the effectiveness of a local VIC, - ease of visitor access, - effective communication skills by information providers and front counter staff’s understanding of the customers’ needs, - the capacity of the VIC to handle large numbers of visitors at any one time, - good signage, - located near major visitor attractions and/or along major access routes, Source: “Increasing Tourism Yield: A Study of VICs” – CAUTHE 2004 Conference As of the beginning of 2009 there were 82 Local Government authorities providing a total of $3.9 million to Visitor Centres, with contributions ranging from $200 to $400,000 per annum. Some 26 of the 82 Visitor Centres are run directly by Local Governments ranging from small operations running out of Local Government administration centres, to large Visitor Centres open seven days per week. The latter is the model adopted by the Shire of Ashburton at Tom Price as well as other progressive‐minded LGAs including the Cities of Swan, Armadale, Mandurah and Bunbury to name a few. 33
Shire of Ashburton Tourism Strategy January 2011 5.1.1 Shire of Ashburton Investment in Visitor Servicing The Shire of Ashburton is a major contributor to local tourism most visibly via the direct operation and management of the Tom Price Visitor Centre and the part funding of the Onslow Visitor Centre. Tom Price Visitor Centre The Tom Price visitor Centre is well located in the centre of town and provides a high profile focal point for tourist activity. The visitor Centre is operated directly by the Shire of Ashburton. The Shire directly employs the Centre staff and invests dollars directly into any operational shortfall. According to Shire reports, in the 2008/9 financial year the Tom Price Visitor Centre generated some $228,964 in operational income comprising predominantly souvenir sales (80.7%), followed by commissions from local tour sales (12.3%), proceeds from Tom Price Visitor Centre consignment good sales (2.6%), and commissions from National Park Pass sales (1.9%). One of the reasons the Shire maintains direct control over the Visitor Centre is that there is only a small number of local tourism industry operators with membership numbers to the Centre varying between 12 and 19 each year. Membership income is minimal with only $2,100 collected for the 2009/10 operational period. A review of Shire VC financial report (10 months June 2009 to April 2010 figures) reveals a total operating income of $191,959 and expenditure of $288,956 leaving a shortfall of around $97,000 for the 10 month period. The budgeted shortfall for the 12 month period is some $115,867 so the operations appear to be largely on target for the year. From this 2009/10 data it would appear that the net cost of operating the Tom Price Visitor Centre to the Shire of Ashburton falls between $100,000 and $110,000 per annum. However, these budget figures also include a Shire “administration allocation” expense of around $73,098 which is an expense item equally apportioned across all of the Shire’s operational divisions reflecting the Shire’s total administration costs rather than a direct operational cost of the Visitor Centre. If this “administration allocation” is removed then the Shire’s net financial investment in the operation of the Tom Price Visitor Centre is around $30,000 to $40,000 per annum. If additional revenue sources could be added then this should also work to reduce the Shire’s ongoing annual financial commitment. A number of these options are discussed below. The Visitor Centre is ideally located in the centre of town to act as a tour departure and termination point and has adequate parking for large coaches and buses. The local Pilbara Iron Mine Tour departs from the Tom Price Visitor Centre and this is a good income source from both tour sale commissions and flow on instore retailing opportunities for passengers either before or after taking the tour. There may be an opportunity for the Visitor Centre to expand on this type of role by acting as the departure point for a regular daily passenger shuttle service to and from the Karijini National Park. This service could operate only in popular visitor periods (say April to September) and could be either run by the Visitor Centre and contracting a local transport operator (with profit retained by the VC) or by acting as a booking agent and a 34
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Part 1 - Shire of Ashburton

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