Lucerne >> After 11 years of operation, the county is preparing to close the Lucerne Visitor Information Center (VIC) as interactive visitor kiosks are being placed at businesses and libraries throughout the county.
The closure was prompted after the county”s Tourism Advisory Board analyzed Lake County”s marketing priorities during a workshop held in January. Facilitated by John Poimioroo and attended by representatives from the tourism industry, business community, wine industry and the county Chamber of Commerce, the group determined 8.5 percent of the county”s marketing budget should be spent on visitor services. However, it costs the county $174,681, or 46.5 percent of the budget, to operate the Lucerne VIC.
Additionally, the tourism board found that the VIC was experiencing a decline in the number of people it served, which was countered by an increase in the number of people utilizing the county”s online resources.
In August of 2010, the VIC saw 854 walk-in visitors, but in August 2013, 646 people visited the center, according to an executive summary by Administrative Officer Matt Perry and delivered to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) in April. Similarly, in July of this year, only 562 walk-ins were recorded.
Meanwhile, visits to the county”s visitor information website were 25 percent higher in August 2013 than in August 2010.
The amount of revenue from the county”s Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) has also fallen by 47 percent since 2008. Perry”s summary sites the closure of Konocti Harbor Inn Resort in 2009 and the recession beginning in December 2007 as major factors for the loss of funds.
As a substitute for the VIC, the county has ordered seven kiosks and is currently accepting applications from businesses that are interested in hosting one. Each kiosk cost the county approximately $3,500, according to Perry. The units come pre-loaded with necessary software to access the county”s visitor website, which is currently being rebuilt, and short marketing videos that are being produced by Bill Groody, Senior Administrative Analyst Jill Ruzicka stated.
As for the Lucerne VIC location at 6110 Highway 20, the county is currently speaking with the Behavioral Health Department about taking over the building in addition to its residence on 13th Avenue. According to Ruzicka, some of the materials at the VIC will likely go to the county”s museums and libraries.
The county has been “scaling back on our paper information materials at the Lucerne VIC for several months,” Ruzicka stated. “We are continuing to print the Konocti Regional Trails” hiking, biking and water trail maps, though.”
Donna Howard, a county employee of 28 and a half years—first at an assistant curator of the Lake County Museum and then as the manager of Lucerne”s VIC—said she doesn”t have concerns about the kiosks replacing the center. In fact, she”s heard kiosks are “trendy” as travelers have commented on their increased use in Europe.
“Based on our declining numbers, it”s time to try something else,” Howard said. “It”s all about the highs and lows of the economy, and this happens to be a low for us.”
She does recommend, however, that the county increase its signage to “direct people off the beaten path” and onto trails and historical markers.
The Lucerne VIC has also served as storage space for the Lake County Genealogical Society”s records, which takes up a large portion of the building”s back room. The records will be relocated to Upper Lake Senior Support Services.
Howard said she”s seen the closure of the VIC coming for a few years now after the county stopped purchasing and restocking some materials and county t-shirts.
