Lakes Visitor Information Centre re-opens
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Lakes Visitor Information Centre re-opens

Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, cuts the ribbon at the opening of the upgraded Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre with East Gippsland Shire Council’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Peter Neal, VIC Coordinator - Wendy McPherson and Cr Dick Ellis.

The Lakes Entrance community is celebrating today’s official reopening of its upgraded visitor information centre by the Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull.

Mr Bull said the Victorian Government was proud to invest $260,000 in the Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre upgrade.

“Tourism in East Gippsland delivers about $273 million per year to the local economy and the Victorian Government is committed to supporting infrastructure upgrades to boost tourism in the region,” Mr Bull said.

“The Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre is the busiest in Gippsland, catering for over 100,000 visitors every year.

“The centre supports local businesses, accommodation providers and local attractions and is essential to increasing tourism in the region.

“It is also an important source of information in a crisis or emergency, such as during the bushfires earlier this year.

“This project has completely refurbished the centre, improving accessibility and energy efficiency.

“New service counters have increased efficiency and enabled staff to deliver a higher quality of service to visitors.

“Technology upgrades allow the centre to provide tourism information in various forms and will be critical to relay information during floods and bushfires,” he said.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Peter Ryan, said Victorian Government funding for the Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre upgrade was provided through the Regional Growth Fund to East Gippsland Shire Council.

“The $1 billion Regional Growth Fund is investing in community-led projects to boost jobs, investment and innovation in regional and rural Victoria,” Mr Ryan said.

“Since it was established in 2011, the Regional Growth Fund has supported 1600 projects generating $1.8 billion of total investment.

“In East Gippsland Shire, the Regional Growth Fund has provided more than $11.4 million to 67 projects, leveraging almost $27.4 million in total investment. Projects include:
•    $300,000 for the $750,000 Paynesville Esplanade Enhancement Project
•    $100,000 for the $3.4 million OneHarvest Beetroot Project
•    $950,000 for the $1.7 million Davison Oval - All Abilities Playground