Is Naracoorte-Lucindale District a competitive tourism destination, and are we doing enough to leverage from the region’s visitor economy?

Tourism is critical to the region’s growth.

And many would say that the sector is crucial in offering townships like ours incredible opportunities for growing jobs, keeping businesses in operation, and sustaining communities.

According to the Naracoorte Visitor Information Centre, 1738 tourists visited the district in the first two months of the year, with the majority being interstate and intrastate guests.

For this period, the centre recorded 513 stays of two nights or longer at various accommodation facilities in the district.

While these figures only take into account the number of visitors who visited the centre, they do not capture the total number of visitors to the district, as not all visitors visit the centre.

Meanwhile, in December last year, the Department of Environment and Water announced that between December 1, 2022, and November 30, 2023, more than 96,000 people travelled to the state’s south east to experience the Naracoorte Caves – up from 86,565 for the same period the year before.

But few of those people appear to be visiting Naracoorte.

A local businessman says tourism is extremely vital for the district’s economy and has called on locals to be ambassadors for their town and the region.

Managing director of Naracoorte’s Mini Jumbuk and elected councillor Darren Turner says the Limestone Coast is a destination for tourists and forms a significant part of the region’s income.

Catering for tourists, Mini Jumbuk is a leader in its field for Naracoorte tourism, opening seven days a week.

“Tourism generally brings outside money into the town or region, and this supports many businesses in the retail, hospitality, and services sector,” Mr Turner said.

“Without tourism, there would be less offering in this space, so it’s crucial that people see tourism as an opportunity to support local businesses and be ambassadors for their town and the region when they meet and talk to visitors,” he said.

Collaboration and challenges:

When asked if enough was being done to attract more visitors to the district, Mr Turner said collaboration was a major challenge.

“A good example of a successful collaboration would be the Coonawarra wine and food events that come together to promote their region,” Mr Turner said.

“The larger challenge is that there is not a `collective we’, but there are many individual businesses and organisations that run events that do an excellent job of attracting tourism.

“Without significant State Government investment in a dedicated tourism body, it is difficult to see groups coming together in a coordinated effort to promote Limestone Coast tourism opportunities.”

What are we missing:

Mr Turner said the district lacked quality accommodation to attract more visitors.

“Quality accommodation is high on the list,” he said.

“Quality dining is also part of that mix. Generally, there is enough accommodation in the Limestone Coast, but there is a big market for higher-quality short-term stays where guests want a bit more luxury and have a higher average spend.

“This also attracts international visitors to the region.”

What can businesses do:

Mr Turner said our businesses needed to have the right mindset that tourists are valuable to the region and treat them the way they would like to be treated when visiting their town and business while on holidays.

“I often strike up a conversation with tourists in our Mini Jumbuk retail shop, as I am generally interested in hearing their story,” he said.

“Where have they come from, where have they visited, and what do they think about our town and region?”

He said the opening hours for businesses were a critical driver for tourism.

“You must have opening hours that tourists want, and you must be consistent,” Mr Turner said.

“An example I can share would be driving up the highway to Adelaide and wondering if a café will be open or the coffee will be good, which is something many can relate to.

“The Waffle Shop at Coonalpyn has been consistently open with regular hours for a few years now, even through Covid, while the other Silo Café is consistently inconsistent with their opening hours.

“It’s taken a long time, but eventually I stopped at the Waffle Shop out of curiosity, and now I’m a regular customer.

“We have seen hospitality businesses or cafés try to open on weekends, and just as they are about to discover that being open regularly with the same opening hours was going to lead to their success, they give up.”

Mr Turner congratulated The Corner Grounds café near the Sheep’s Back Museum, saying it was an outstanding example of how to do it right.

“It (the café) is bringing a bit of the city to the country and will quickly become a destination for tourists.

“It will genuinely bring visitors into town. Hutchisons Nursery is to be congratulated too because we now have cafés that are consistently open seven days a week, and the town will gain a reputation for this.”

He said the new Mitre 10 store was another example of a successful business trading seven days a week.

“It not only keeps more money in town, but it also stops leakage from other local businesses if people go to Mount Gambier to shop, and it brings in new business from surrounding towns and visitors.”

Weekends and public holidays:

Mr Turner has urged businesses to not be afraid to put a surcharge on or create a different menu or offering when opening their business on a weekend or a public holiday.

“Average out the year and don’t look at day-to-day turnover, as one Sunday might be quiet while another might be busy, but overall, you have increased the size of your business and turnover,” he said.

“Have limited opening hours if need be, but be consistent.”

Mr Turner said the CBD must be vibrant and must have ease of parking, and Ormerod Street in Naracoorte was a great example of this.

According to Tourism SA, one in 18 jobs in the Limestone Coast is supported by the tourism industry, and visitors inject about $400million into the region’s economy annually.

This article appeared in the  Naracoorte Community News.