The report recommends council seek expressions of interest from not-for-profit incorporated organisations, businesses, or individuals to run the centres, in Batemans Bay and Narooma.

The council undertook community engagement on a proposal put forward in March that aimed to improve the way council’s visitor services meet the changing needs and behaviour of visitors. 

It followed independent advice that council should allocate a greater proportion of the existing tourism budget to the web and digital environment and to fund priorities in its tourism destination management plan. 

Tuesday’s report sets out issues raised in the community engagement and how they might be addressed through calling for expressions of interest.

Eighty per cent of residents who made submissions wanted physical visitor information centres to remain.

Council’s communication and tourism executive manager Catherine Reilly said many visitor centres across Australia were managed by organisations other than councils or in partnership with councils.

“A change in the way the centres are managed would not have any impact our customers’ experience,” Mr Reilly said.

“If council decides to seek expressions of interest it would be a requirement that the centres continue to be accredited and meet industry standards as they do now.”

Ms Reilly said tourism was an important industry in Eurobodalla.

“Visitor centres, local businesses and the community all contribute to its success by distributing  information about experiences that can increase the length of time people holiday in Eurobodalla and how much they spend while here,” she said.

“Alongside this, council invests in marketing activities to attract people here from Sydney, Canberra, regional NSW and internationally by raising awareness of the many experiences on offer in their pre-holiday planning phase.”