Part 1 - Shire of Ashburton

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Shire of Ashburton Tourism Strategy January 2011 Onslow Visitor Centre The Onslow visitor Centre is managed by a local tourism industry committee and receives part funding directly from the Shire of Ashburton in the order of $45,000 per annum and through the provision of a well located building and infrastructure. The Onslow VC opens only between the months of April to October each year, Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm and closed 1 hours in the middle for lunch, and Sundays 10am to 2pm, for an average of 40 hours per week over the 7 month visitor period. Visitors are directed to the local Shire office front counter for information outside of these operational months. Onslow Visitor Centre entrance Door figures supplied by the Onslow VC estimate around 6,368 visitors to the Visitor Centre were received in the 7 months of 2009 with a low of 208 visitors in the month of April up to a peak of 1,699 visitors in the month of July. In addition to servicing the information needs of visitors to the town, the Visitor Centre undertakes a regular program of markets and social events. As a committee based entity, local tourism operators have the opportunity to participate directly in the operation of the Visitor Centre and have input into the direction of local promotion and marketing initiatives. Visitors entering into the Onslow facility are well serviced for local information and it is considered that the Onslow Visitor Centre performs this role well. Like the Tom Price Visitor Centre, where improvements could be made lies in the lack of “networking” with/amongst other visitor centres, and more specifically for the Onslow destination, cooperative work should be undertaken with the Shire of Roebourne to broaden the current “West Pilbara Coast” banner. As a major financial contributor to the Onslow Visitor Centre there is a need to supply the Shire with a regular reporting mechanism. This can be in the form of a simple written report however should include actual budget, summary of promotional initiatives undertaken, events, and future planned directions and activities. Recommendation 6: Management of the Onslow Visitor Centre to supply the Shire with a regular reporting mechanism. Reflecting the Centre’s opening times it is suggested two reports per visitor season (the first in April at the beginning of the season outlining future direction, operational goals and planned activity, and the second at the end of the season in October reporting on previous 7 month performance). This reporting format is not considered too onerous on Centre management/committee as this should already be undertaken for the Committee’s own planning and monitoring purposes. It is the view of the consultants that in a general sense, LGA operated Visitor Information Centres offer many advantages to the overall development of a successful tourism destination. When considering the setting and context in which tourism operates specifically within the Shire of Ashburton region, again it is considered that the Shire is undertaking the correct approach to fully funding and managing the Tom Price visitor information service and part funding the industry committee managed Onslow VIC and this approach should continue. In terms of organisational structure, responsibility for the Tom Price and Onslow visitor information centres fall under the Shire’s Community & Economic Services section which is considered appropriate. The Tom Price visitor centre operations are overseen by the Executive Manager of this section and this structure has worked well largely due to the levels of commercial experience and enthusiasm for tourism held by current individuals within the management structure. 37
Shire of Ashburton Tourism Strategy January 20111 However, as the region continues to grow and the inevitablee moving on of effective Shire employees there will be a need to ensuree that tourism development remains effectively managed by the Shire. The eventual refocusing upon economic development initiatives would most likely lead to a restructure of the Shire’s organisational structure at an unknown time in the future and at this stage it would be recommended that tourism and visitor servicing be included under a dedicated “economic development” department. Recommendation 7: The Shire of Ashburton should continue its current investment in operating the Tom Price Visitor Centre and part funding the Onslow Visitor Centre operations. The Shire performs an essential role in the funding and management of the delivery of visitor information services on behalf of its local industry and broader community. Recommendation 8: The Tom Price and Onslow Visitor Information Centres to prepare respectivee business and local promotional plans to guide the management of their visitor servicing operations and to be reviewed annually. Recommendation 9: If and when the Shire adopts a more focused approach to economic development then tourism operations should be included under this department heading. 5.2 Visitor Signage Visitor signage can be broadly grouped into 2 categories; directional or interpretive and the following section reviews how these are currently delivered and makes recommendations on possible improvements. 5.2.1 Directional signage An important element of visitor servicing and successful tourism destination development is easy to read and understand road directional signage. The large majority of visitors to the Shire’s tourist sitess are/will be self drive travellers thatt will be unfamiliar with the local geography and road networks so directions need to be clear and simple. Clear and easy to understand signposting is crucial to the development of a destination heavily reliant upon the self drive traveller. Motorists also tend to be reluctant to turn around if they realise that they have missed a stop off point of interest on the way to a particular end destination. The provision of effective directional signage should not be underestimated in terms of its impact upon a visitor’s overall experience. A review of existing roadside directional signage within the Shire appears largely appropriate. A selection of these is included below however a more comprehensivee photographic library of current road side bays and the like is included in report attachment 13. These roadside signs are managed by Main Roads WA and are part of a uniform road signage system implemented across the State. A selection of roadside directional signage within the Shire. 38
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Part 1 - Shire of Ashburton

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