Few would be surprised to hear that the Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery centre - located in the Southern Gateway centre - has closed it's doors after just eighteen months in business.
Jumbulla was asking for $ 15 admittance to see it's forty-five minute audio/visual display - and this was attracting an average of just four people a day. In effect - this was simply an Aboriginal history lesson.
The whole concept of a tourist centre seems to have been lost in the spending of $ 11 million to create the Southern Gateway project. Visitors do not expect to pay to be directed to a regions attractions - and it is difficult to see what Jumbulla was doing to facilitate an enjoyable visit to the Illawarra. Few people visited this region to get a history lesson.
So - what can be salvaged from this mess ?
Drop that entrance fee and entice visitors with inducements to visit specific attractions . Work out arrangements with Wollongong and Shellharbour business people to issue coupons offering discounts and incentives - such as a free cup of coffee - to make visitors welcome. We have much to offer - and we need knowledgeable guides to spruik our wares.
The business community would financially support a revamped Jumbulla working the tourist angle - and offering an interesting guide to local Aboriginal culture as a free service.
Refocus the objective. Put servicing tourism on a business footing - and the original purpose of the Gateway may be finally achieved !
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