REWARDS OF A LITTLE DUNNY BUSINESS
David Ellis
HOPEFULLY it appears that the days of public toilets being hidden as far away as possible at many city and country tourist centres, and worse still tucked down the end of spider-webbed long bush tracks, may soon be a thing of the past.
Because operators and overseers of these centres and sightseeing drawcards are realising that rather than being an expensive burden they’d rather not have, quality public toilets can prove a cosy little money-maker for their attractions, villages, towns and cities.
So much so in fact, that after the toilets at the Southern Highlands Welcome Centre at Mittagong in NSW were refurbished in late 2015, annual visitation to the Centre increased from 60,000 then, to 72,000 last year. And sales of travel items and souvenirs, plus bookings for local accommodation and sightseeing tours at the Centre’s tourist shop rose a whopping twenty per cent a year in that time.
All this also saw the Centre win the award for Best Economic Contributor in last year’s first-ever International Toilet Tourism Awards.
If you want to know more about these unusual awards and the Southern Highlands’ Welcome Centre toilet facilities, have a look at www.MyTravelResearch.com                         
[] TOILETS at the Southern Highlands Welcome Centre at Mittagong in NSW have flowers daily, information posters on walls, an audio reel that chats about things to see and do, and wall and ceiling stickers highlighting local attractions for travellers to muse over while doing their whatever in the loo. (Image: MyTravelResearch)
[] NSW Southern Highlands Welcome Centre’s loos have information boards that are a check-list of everything you’ll likely be thinking about – and a reminder to grab a cup of coffee at the same time. (Southern Highlands Welcome Centre)