Lithgow City Council staff unveiled a revamped tourist information centre on the night of Wednesday, July 25, saying the new look was representative of the tourism department’s move from providing information to providing “experiences”.
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“This is what will be the start of a real significant step change in terms of where we need to be for a modern day story telling experience for Lithgow as a brand destination,” council’s economic development manager Andrew Powrie said.
“We want to get the 40,000 people who visit this place to go to our tourism members, and this is going to be through a whole lot more than a brochure.
“That’s the end game: dollars, jobs, vibrancy, results.”
The centre’s open floor plan now includes large-scale visuals of local tourist destinations, a touch-screen computer, lounges, a movie theatre, free wifi and a coffee machine to encourage visitors to follow Lithgow Tourism’s social media profiles for a free cuppa.
“We have tried to really change the game,” he said.
“The centre’s all about telling stories and motivating people to get out and see what we’re talking about. And I think with these new aides we will be in the ideal position to do that.”
Mayor Stephen Lesslie said Lithgow needed to announce itself as a hub for travellers.
“Isn’t it good if people come to Lithgow and then go to see Jenolan Caves, or come to Lithgow to see the three sisters, or come to Lithgow to see Lithgow sites. It’s a great place to be and we’ve got to let people know that, that’s our aim,” he said.
“Tourism is not the be all and end all of what we need in Lithgow, we need business and we need industry and we are working on that.
“But tourism is a big part, and it’s something we can do now.”
A new video advertising Lithgow’s events, screened during the opening, received positive feedback.
“It’s good to see the attention to social media, the destination branding and signage, and I think the video is a great start,” said Lithgow resident and professional consultant Robert Swinton, who volunteered to be part of the council’s working party on tourism and events.
Jo McClelland-Phillips the marketing and event manager at Mayfield Gardens said she was encouraged by the council’s focus on getting businesses to work collaboratively to enhance Lithgow’s appeal.
“We want to bring people up from Sydney and to bring people up from Sydney we need to work together because people won’t come up for just one thing.
“They’ll come up for two things, for five things, they’ll come up for ten things – so it’s a win when we work together,” she said.
Garry Roberts who operates a farm stay at Marrangaroo was also positive.
“I’ve only just come on board but hopefully its quite encouraging,” he said.
Margaret Jackson of Goryu Japanese Gardens and Maple Spring Nursery said she thought visitor traction from Lithgow’s information centre had “started to improve”.
“I think they are trying to show all the different types of activities out there,” she said.
Mr Francis said changes to the tourist information centre did not take money out of the council’s budget.
“It was done with savings in other areas so it was not actually additional expenditure,” he said.
Mr Swinton (of the working party) and Mr Francis indicated that council was working towards building an industry body that could lead Lithgow Tourism’s marketing, based on a similar model used in the Blue Mountains.
“Our research suggested that councils are good at administrating, while businesses are good at marketing, so councils can provide the support and administration for that,” Mr Swinton said.
