Plantagenet Australia Day 2023: Mount Barker Tourism acknowledged for supporting local people and business

Mount Barker Tourism and its volunteers were awarded the active citizenship group award for supporting local businesses and running the Mount Barker Visitor Centre. The centre, which is open seven days a week and gets more than 5000 visitors a year, is a vital support for local businesses and tourism operators. It provides visitors to the region with information on providers and businesses and helps support the town by bringing tourists off the highway and into the town. The volunteers have given more than 20,000 hours a year to ensure that the service remains a vital part of the community. The Mount Barker Tourist Bureau was re-established in September 2020, after the closure of the Mount Barker Visitor Centre, which was previously run by Great Southern Treasures. The new committee was responsible for building a sustainable not-for-profit organisation to facilitate the running of the centre and support the promotion of tourism in the Shire of Plantagenet. Plantagenet Shire president Chris Pavlovich said he acknowledged the volunteers for their time and support given so enthusiastically to a service vital for tourism in the region. “The Shire of Plantagenet is a much better place thanks to the dedication, passion and hard work of our volunteers,” he said. Mount Barker Tourism operations manager Kathryn MacNeil said it was wonderful to be recognised for the amount of volunteer work the group offered the community. “The visitors’ centre is the first port of call to visitors and the volunteers work really hard to make sure we give a positive image to our visitors,” she said. “The volunteers bring their personal stories and inside knowledge to offer visitors that they can’t get from a website for a guidebook. “We have just registered with Act Belong Commit. Through that, we are looking to build a volunteer network to provide more opportunities for local community members. Mount Barker Tourism is holding a volunteer information session at 10am on February 8. For more information, email info@mountbarkkerwa.com.au or visit its website.