With Engelbrecht Cave and Umpherston Sinkhole Kiosk returning to the City of Mount Gambier’s care and control, council has release plans detailing how they will operate, along with new ideas for the Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre and the Lady Nelson Visitor and Discovery Centre.
Beginning this month council will implement a ‘hub and spoke’ visitor model.
This will see a Visitor Centre Hub created at the Riddoch with spoke sites at Engelbrecht Cave, Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul and the Blue Lake Welcome Centre.
Council general manager city infrastructure Barbara Cernovskis said now was the time to consider the long term direction for tourism services.
“This model represents a paradigm shift in the way we grow our visitor economy, one that prioritises traveller engagement with our visitor servicing team, industry connection and environmental stewardship,” she said.
Engelbrecht Cave would be the first site to see the shift, with former licensee Jan Coleman recently handing back the keys.
Ms Cernovskis said the site would provide cohesive storytelling, digital and physical visitor information and be accessible seven days a week.
“Council will provide visitor servicing, tour guide experiences, Mount Gambier branded merchandise and light refreshments,” she said.
“A business development and implementation plan will guide the roll out and we will take a phased approach to the changes at the site.
“This will enable us to closely measure how things are going with the new model to inform our decision making and ensure best practice.”
She said the Umpherston Sinkhole Kiosk would return to council care in October and become the second spoke site.
“Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul Kiosk operator Julie Holdsworth will retire at the end of her lease in October, and Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul will then be included as a spoke visitor servicing site,” she said.
“Our priority is to ensure presence of visitor servicing at Engelbrecht Cave and Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul to facilitate a smooth transition back to Council’s care and control.”
For now, the Blue Lake Welcome Centre will continue to run as normal, though Ms Cernovskis said increased activation during high visitation periods would be considered.
With these changes, the Lady Nelson Visitor and Discovery Centre site would be repurposed in line with the Community Land Management Plan.
Council is currently preparing a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI), expected to be announced in early August, to seek community activation of the site, with a view to house the city’s creative industries and/or historic collections.
