By Oscar Parry
Sunbury’s in-person visitor information centre will begin to wind down, with Hume council transitioning to online delivery of the service.
Located at the Hume Global Learning Centre, the Sunbury Visitor Information Centre will close at the end of June.
According to a Hume spokesperson, the council will instead focus on online information delivery – such as through its Discover Hume page on Instagram – with the transition “consistent with industry trends across Victoria”.
This follows a council review that found more people are accessing visitor information online and the majority of in-person enquiries at the Sunbury Visitor Information Centre at the Hume Global Learning Centre are not visitor-related.
The spokesperson said the council will connect the centre’s staff and volunteers with relevant job opportunities and help them explore other voluntary roles within Hume.
“As we transition this service there will be increased support for Sunbury businesses, including those with a tourism focus,” the spokesperson said.
Sunbury Residents Association president Graham Williams said he believes the lack of in-person visitation for tourism inquiries is due to the centre’s location and the opening hours of the Hume Global Learning Centre.
“I think … it’s not accessible nor well-signposted or advertised, and it’s basically a very low-key service currently and doesn’t lend itself to visitors to Sunbury finding it and managing to get to it,” Mr Williams said.
“I think the loss of the previous visitor information centre was a retrograde step, and we would like to see it reinstated.”
In a message posted to Facebook, mayor Jarrod Bell said the volunteers at the Hume Global Learning Centre in Sunbury are “familiar faces, warm welcomes, and often the first people visitors and locals alike turn to for support, guidance, or even just a friendly chat”.
“It’s also important to acknowledge that while the service is volunteer-led, managing an accredited visitor information centre … comes with significant costs.”
He said the nature of the service has changed, with the volunteers now providing more of a community concierge service at the Hume Global Learning centre rather than a traditional visitor service.
Cr Bell said he will continue to advocate for the volunteers who wish to remain involved to “have a place within a refreshed model of support at the GLC,” which is currently being explored by Hume.
