Investigating potential tourism yield from visitor information centres

This report presents the findings of a study into the role played by Visitor Information Centres (VICs) in enhancing tourism yield within regional Australia. It has drawn upon both qualitative and quantitative data collected in New South Wales and Victoria to examine a number of issues. In all, sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted in both states with VIC coordinators, paid staff and volunteers. At the same time, visitors were intercepted at the VICs, resulting in 782 responses. The findings from this research indicate that VICs are important in promoting tourism and increasing tourist spend, particularly within regional Australia. While it is difficult to quantify the actual level of increased expenditure, it is clear that VICs have a pivotal role to play in maintaining and developing tourism products and the travel experience