A BARHAM business has the opportunity to help hundreds of tourists who flock to the region each year.
After its original location had restricted trading hours, the Barham Tourist Centre will be relocated from the council chambers to the Barham Newsagency and Florist.
Barham Newsagency and Florist owner Trish Conder said the change came after the community asked for the centre to be put somewhere else, due to the council chambers not being open on the weekends.
She said Council found the most viable option would be for the centre to go into an existing shop.
A number of businesses, including the local cafe and supermarkets, were on the cards to house the tourist information centre.
After some deliberation, the Barham Newsagency was granted permission to run the centre from its store.
Ms Conder said she was excited about the decision.
She said she believed it came down to her “mature aged” staff who were well familiar and fond of the area — the reason she nominated her business for the role.
“You want people that know the district, have been here for a long time and are positive about the things available for tourists,” she said.
“I was very excited for all of this to happen.”
An interactive touch screen will be installed at the newsagency for tourists to gain information about the town.
Other local businesses will stock information brochures.
“We’ve got the room ready to go, we’ve been doing a lot of moving things around and hoping for it all to be fitted and ready to go in early September,” Ms Conder said.
Ms Conder said she had always enjoyed meeting tourists and helping them out when possible.
“A lot of them would come [to the newsagency] asking for information about the town,” she said.
“I was already getting the brochures from council to have at my store for them.
“[The tourists] all have great stories.”
With the Murray River being a hot-spot for visitors, Ms Conder said there was a constant flow of tourists coming through the town.
Soon, these tourists will be able to visit the information centre on arrival with caravan parking due to be outlined in front of the newsagency.
“There is a massive amount of families that come through. It’s not just retired people, we see a lot of young families and couples that come throughout the whole year,” Ms Conder said.
“They follow the festivals that we’re lucky to have a lot of here. There is the jazz festival this weekend and we’re just getting over the country music festival.
“Even the sporting events attract a lot of tourists.
“[We] need to help people out and encourage them to stay in the area.”
